Siege of Amity Park
by Trevor the Enchanter
Summary: After Phantom Planet, the very existence of Amity Park is in danger when it becomes the battleground for a millenia long war between Yaujta and Kainde Amedha. Even with Vlad's return, will he be able to survive? now rated M!
1. the beginning

Here's the sequel to paralyzed and the Musings of Vlad Plasmius; it's an actual story this time, not a one-shot. The summary is too long to put into outside so here goes:

After Phantom Planet, Danny was hoping to relax with his friends. Unfortunately, he couldn't be more wrong as a bad blood Yautja unleashes facehuggers on Amity Park. Now Danny has to survive both the Predators and Xenomorphs. Is there any way he can survive this war? And a deadlier enemy is coming to destroy everything…

Just so you know, Danny and the Predators will not be working together; they consider him prey, not an ally. There is one that has a soft spot for humans, but he has a different role that you'll have to wait and see. This is a high T rating, and I may have to raise it to M in later chapters, so be aware of that. I'm also not sure what Predators are named, and am only basing it on what I've seen in fanfiction.

Trey're examined the area along with his father, Jerlae. He had recently completed his blooding ritual, and was eager to hunt. However, he knew that there purpose was to hunt the Kainde amedha facehuggers, along with the criminal Nevty'er. Despite himself, he was slightly afraid. Nevty'er had already killed several arbitrators during his 20 years as a bad blood.

So far, they had only found one of the facehuggers in the forest, which he had immediately cut in half. He just hoped they weren't too late. Besides, he heard of a new prey in this particular area, one of whom killed a Yautja. Trey're felt the rumors were exaggerated, but wanted to look anyway.

"I find the lack of them bad news." Jerlae told his son. He was over 8 feet tall, almost as tall as the females. He was considered a great warrior, and when this was over, he intended to become an elder. "They may have already impregnated the local animals."

"How about we just find Nevty'er." Trey're suggested. He, on the other hand, was quite short; only 6'7. Even so, he was no less of a fighter and not to be underestimated. "He's the one responsible for all this. If we act quickly, we can contain this before the oomans realize we were ever here."

Before Jerlae could reply, they heard the distant sounds of battle. Activating their cloak, they went to investigate. The first thing they saw was Nevty'er being slammed into a tree. Furiously, he glared at the other figure and recovered his combi spear. (Not sure what it's called)

Father and son looked at his opponent, who was actually floating in the air. He had black hair in the shape to two horns, white fangs bearing a cocky grin. His chest was white, save for a black triangle. He had a cape that was white with a blood red interior. He had received a few minor injuries, but other than that, he was perfectly fine.

"What the hell is this?" Trey're asked in astonishment as Jerlae scanned him.

"Very interesting." He replied, mainly to himself. "He has the anatomy of an ooman, but none of their kind are capable of this." He watched as Nevty'er threw his disk, only for it to pass through him. On the return trip, his opponent grabbed the disk and grinned beckoning him forward.

He dodged the shots from the plasma caster, and returned with one of his own. The mysterious opponent dodged most of the shots and blocked the others y conjuring a shield.

"Maybe the rumors are true after all." Trey're said to himself. He would love to hunt this type of prey, but this was not his fight. For the moment, he would observe and learn of its capabilities. It blocked more shots and Nevty're was growing desperate. He fired the net gun, only to have it go through him.

"Can't he figure how to fight this thing," Jerlae chucked. He watched as he waited until the see-through state had reversed and charged after him with the spear. He cut the figure on the arm, but it didn't do a lot of good as he wrestled the spear away from him.

Firing the last shots of the plasma caster as a distraction, Nevty're tried to run for it. However, his opponent anticipated the move and grabbed him by the ankle. For reasons unknown to them, he started screaming in agony. The figure tore off his armor, and used the spear to stab him through the heart, ending his life.

"It makes our jobs easier." Jerlae laughed quietly. "Come on, son. We still have to find the rest of the facehuggers."

"I think whatever this is, it's doing the same thing." Trey're replied, now looking at three destroyed bodies of facehuggers. He fully intended to report this to the council once all this was over.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"Why did Clockwork send me after him?" Vlad complained. "Daniel could probably have beaten him." Thinking for a couple of seconds, though, made him unsure. Whatever that monster was, it was skilled, and it took considerable time to defeat him. Thankfully, that thing had no knowledge of his capabilities. Vlad sighed in annoyance, but despite that, he knew he owed a great deal to Clockwork. He had saved his life and offered him a chance at redemption. It would be nice, though, if he would stop speaking in riddles.

"Okay, I've gotten rid of four of those creepy things." Vlad stated to himself. For some reason, they had extremely acidic blood, potent enough that it could even eat some of his skin, despite the protection of his ghost half. "Now from I've seen, they try to avoid contact with groups, and a few have already attached themselves to deer and wolves. Now why would it knock them unconscious and yet keep them alive? I don't understand it."

He looked at a nearby tree, where he saw two shimmering figures. He charged up an ecto-blast, waiting for a surprise attack. They couldn't be ghosts, since his ghost sense was not going off. Could they be another kind of ghost, one that he had never encountered?

Vlad shook himself out of his thoughts. There would be time to unravel the mystery later. At the moment, he had to find the other eggs and destroy them. From what he had gathered, there were at least 70 and perhaps more. It was going to be a long night. Thankfully, his ghost powers allowed him to see in the dark. The last thing he needed was for Daniel to show up and get in his way.

After another hour of searching, he had found very little. Vlad destroyed two more eggs, but nothing else. _I suppose this makes sense. It's a large forest and these are small creatures, although deadly. Now some of them attached themselves to animals. I can destroy them then. Wait, why didn't I do that in the first place?_ There was nothing he could do about it now, however, except continue with his search.

He smirked slightly as he imagined Samantha's reaction to his chosen course of action. That girl was certainly unique. Daniel chose well, he gave him that. Vlad extended his search to low-lying trees, and found several more. He fired ecto-blasts from a distance, not wanting to get any more of their acidic blood on him

Vlad's thought drifted towards his old friends. He couldn't blame them for hating him. He was a bitter old fool for many years, and while he still loved Maddie, he accepted that she had chosen Jack. Vlad had briefly considered revenge against them, but what would the point be? Nothing would change, everyone would still hate him, and Daniel would be hell-bent on revenge.

Speaking of Daniel, he saw him and Samantha sitting near a tree, holding hands and smiling. Vlad groaned, feeling a burst of jealousy. Careful to stay out of range of Daniel's ghost sense, he listened in on their conversation. _I wonder what her parents will say about this. They'll go off on how horrible Daniel is, I don't doubt._

"So what happened to him?" Sam asked, looking serious. "We haven't found a trace."

"I haven't sensed any ghosts, either." Danny replied. "I don't have the slightest clue where Nathan and Kwan are. Well, we better keep looking." However, something in the bushes caught their attention. Danny transformed into Phantom, ready for battle, but it was only a Coyote. He breathed a sigh of relief, but the Coyote went into convulsions, screaming in agony. Sam immediately rushed to help him, but could do nothing. Blood spurted out and something broke out of it.

_So that's why they keep them alive: to use as incubators for their newborn!_Vlad thought in shock. It explained an awful lot, such as why those things kept the animals alive. Since Daniel was too shocked to do anything, it was up to him. However, the creature disappeared into the woods before he could get a clear shot. Looking back at his former enemies, he saw both of them were shaken up. "What the hell was that thing?" Samantha asked.

"I don't know, but we better find Nathan and Kwan before it's too late." Daniel replied, and flew off with her in tow. Vlad felt that it already was, but perhaps they could be surgically removed before they grew.

He heard more screams throughout the woods, and became almost desperate. Vlad searched for the chest-bursters, but only found one. He figured they were searching for food. The humane thing to do was find the kids and try to help them, but he decided destroying the creatres was more important. He saw two chestbursters feeding on a deer. _How strong are these things?! _Vlad asked in amazement. Also, they had grown almost twice as big.

Vlad started firing immediately. One was destroyed, but the other climbed a tree and managed to escape. "Perhaps I've been going about this incorrectly." Vlad said to himself. "Those creatures I saw before may have been the ones that released. I guess they have a cloaking device of some sort. If I'm correct, they are capable of bending light."

After destroying another facehugger, he found the two creatures. It was difficult, but Vlad managed to make them out. Duplicating into four, he surrounded the duo. If they were anything like his last opponent, this was going to be far from easy.

They started firing before he had the chances, forcing the Vlads to scatter. Both of them took out sticks that extended into spears and went into a defensive position. Vlad fired eye beams, which as he expected, they managed to avoid. One of the duplicates tried to sneak around them, only to have their spear buried in its gut.

Vlad conjured an ectoplasmic tornado, using his remaining duplicates to distract them. It was a direct hit, sending them straight into a tree. They recovered quickly, though, and Vlad was blasted in the chest by two shots from the cannon. It didn't cause any serious damage, but was considerably painful.

He blew up the ground around them, making sure there was no way for them to dodge. One of them finally failed to evade them in time, disabiling their cloaking device. "So these are the same things I fought earlier, and what Daniel fought with." Vlad told himself, not sure if they could understand him. Not wasting any time, he charged into them, turning intangible at the last minute. Before he could swing again, Vlad delivered a deadly shock, hoping to at least short out its weaponry.

The other one, though, threw a spinning disk, destroying the two duplicates. Vlad cursed to himself, flying above it. He conjured an ectoplasmic sword and shield, ready for action. One of them charged, although cautiously, since they knew he was a deadly enemy. He blocked the attack with the sword and grabbed the spear. Vlad backflipped in the air, trying to force it out of his grip, but he stubbornly held on. He fired his eye beams into the face mask, hoping to cause at least some damage. Nothing melted, as it was very heat-resistant, but it fried some of the circuitry.

The first one tried to fire his shoulder cannon, but it blew up on him. Vlad took advantage and duplicated himself, the latter tearing off the mask. To put lightly, he was surprised by their appearances. Their skin was brown and had 4 mandibles along with its other teeth.

What none of them realized was that a facehugger leaped towards Vlad. He managed to dodge in time but the Predator was not so lucky. It grabbed its face and even the Predator's strength was not enough to pry it off. The other bowed its head for a second and stabbed the infected Predator through the neck. Upon seeing the host was dead, it was promptly vaporized by Vlad.

Vlad studied the creature silently as it bowed its head. Obviously, they were at least somewhat close. "You know about these creatures?" Vlad asked, but the Predator gave no response.

"Yes… come for hunt." He finally replied. Vlad decided he must have a translator of some sort. It was a real shame he had not been able to copy the technology before the disasteroid incident.

"So you're not the ones who released these creatures?"

"Released by Bad Blood… came to destroy him. You destroyed first… you warrior."

"Thanks for the compliment, but I work alone. I need to hunt down the rest of these creatures before they infect others."

The Predator nodded and gave him his comrade's spear. Vlad didn't understand the gesture, but gathered it was a recognition of some sort. He got a feel for it; despite what he thought, the object was quite light, no more than a couple of pounds. However, it was stronger than any metal he knew of. "I may need some help." Vlad admitted to himself. "Much as it pains me, I need to contact Jack."

"Not yet, Vlad." Clockwork told him through a communicator. "They aren't ready for your presence; just be patient."

"We don't have time for patience!" Vlad snapped. "Who knows what those things are going to do?"

"It's too late to stop them now." Clockwork sighed, currently in his elderly form. "You destroyed 17 of them, and our… visitors destroyed 9, but the emberyos have already been planted. This is what I told you about. Very soon, there will be a war and Danny will need your help in order to survive."

"That means there are at least 44 of them left, likely more." Vlad contemplated to himself. "How long does it take for them to mature?"

"16 to 24 hours, depending on their host. Once they grow, they will become a living weapon. No human will be able to defeat them without heavy weaponry. They are around 8 feet tall and armed to the teeth, if you'll pardon the pun. From some of the drones will be more eggs, who may in turn…"

"In other words, we have a very bad situation on our hands. I'll hunt down as many of these bastards as I can. I doubt they'll have any shortage of hosts, especially when they send in a rescue party."

"Which is precisely what you have to prevent, Vlad. Keep everyone away from this forest however possible. I hope you do not have to expose yourself, but it may become necessary."

"Let's see what can be done. Daniel will surely investigate and I will not be able to stop him without eposing myself. However… I wanted a chance at redemption and it's what I have to do. Nobody cares about me, in any case. Daniel has already seen one of them, though, and wll surely be back. Perhaps I can help the boy without exposing myself, but I'll have to wait and see."

"I'll talk to you again in 24 hours, once the creatures have matured. I will not deceive you: many are going to die in this fight, including people you know. Even if you emerge victorious, there will be a greater battle on a larger scale. Clockwork out."

"Stupid old coot, never gives a straight answer." Vlad sighed, knowing he would have a long wait. Searching the area once again, he saw a semi-mature creature, around 3 feet tall, feeding on what he presumed was the host. Upon closer examination, he discovered it was one of Daniel's classmates. He fired an ecto-blast, but when the smoke cleared, the creature was still alive.

It bared its teeth and jumped towards him. Vlad delivered a roundhouse kick to the jaw that no human could have survived, but it slowly regained its footing, blood coming out of its mouth. He knew better than to touch it while it was bleeding acid, so he waited. Once it recovered, he created an ecto-sword and stabbed it through its thick skull. Vlad watched as it slowly fell and nailed it with an energy blast as insurance and floated off.

"I can barely imagine how strong they'll be once fully grown." Vlad shuddered. He handled the spear another had given him earlier. "Perhaps this thing is resistant to their blood. One way to find out."

However, Vlad was unaware of the fact that all of the Xenomorphs had burst free of ther hosts and were feeding on them. Once that food supply was exhaustd, they hunted down whatever they could find. So far, there had been 8 human chestbursters but it mattered very little. None of the wildfire had any chance against them. A few were almost fully mature.

But there was still one egg that had a creature inside it, laying dormant, waiting for the perfect host.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Come on, we have to get him to the hospital now!" Sam exclaimed. She and Danny had found Kwan eating a Coyote raw. For some reason, his hunger was extreme, much more than it should be in only 24 hours.

"I'm hurrying, I'm hurrying." Danny panicked. "Don't worry; you'l be fine, dude." He knew he was likely lying, but Danny didn't want to think about the possibility. Kwan then began to scream bloody murder. Danny and Sam gasped, knowing what it meant.

"God, what can we do for him?" Sam screeched. Normally, she was afraid of nothing, but after seeing these creatures… she was forced to change that statement.

Danny stood there for several seconds, debating with himself. Finally, he gulped, and sent a lethal energy blast in Kwan. By this time, the Xenomorph was almost out, but fortunately, Danny destroyed it before he could escape. Once the task was done, Danny did something he had not for years:

He fell to his knees and wept.

Yeah, this definitely has the potential to become an M-rated story, especialy since it's only going to get worse. Poor Danny; not only does he have to deal with Xenomorphs, but the Predators are hunting him as well. As for Vlad, he's not a goody two-shoes like Danny, but he's no longer consumed with hate. I'm trying to show a more sympathetic side to Vlad.

To be honest, I'm not sure how long this story is going to be. I'm planning on 8 chapters, but it could easily become more.


	2. Foolish resistance

I'm glad to be getting these things up somewhat quickly. I'll write as much as I can while it's still fresh in my mind. Anyway, let's just get to the story. Again, no one but Danny's friends and family know his secret. (Vlad doesn't count)

"So these things actually burst out of his chest?" Jack asked. "This has to be the work of ghosts! It's the perfect opportunity to test out my new invention!"

"They're not ghosts." Danny refuted. "They're… I don't know what they are, but we have to stop them before more people die. My ghost sense doesn't go off, so they definitely aren't ghosts. God, it was sick to see that."

"That's quite understandable, Danny." Maddie comforted, hugging him. "We'll take care of everything. Now the first thing we need to do is keep everyone away. Maybe we can spread the rumor that there are dangerous ghosts in the forest and not to go inside until we capture them."

"I don't like lying, but in this case, we have little choice." Danny sighed. "We should probably try to find the eggs and destroy them, but we don't know how many there are."

"All right, we'll take the assault vehicle." Jack declared. "Much as I hate putting you in the line of fire, we'll need you. If we're in trouble, just fly away; don't linger. No sense in you getting hurt because of any mistakes I make."

"There's one more thing you need to know." Danny warned. "They have acid for blood. It ate right through the ground, so strike them from far away. I wonder what kind of intelligence they have, but in any case, we can't underestimate them."

At that moment, Jazz walked in the door with a boy holding her hand. "Okay, James, I'll see you at school tomorrow." Jazz smiled, kissing him gently on the lips. He was stunned and blinked his eyes a couple of times before finally leaving. "Hey, guys. What's going on?" (He's based on me, and will be a minor character. Don't worry; he won't have superpowers or anything)

"We've got a bit of a situation honey." Maddie sighed.

"Wait, when did you two start dating?" Jack demanded. "Has he done anything to you? If he even looks at you the wrong way, I swear I'll…"

"Dad, enough," Jazz cut him off. "We've been dating for a couple of weeks, and he's quite sweet. He's just kind of shy."

"Jack, let's just tell her." Maddie interrupted before an argument could start. "Jazz, last night, Danny discovered some very dangerous creatures in the forest. They aren't ghosts but we're going with the story so no others will be attacked. I won't stop you from coming, but…"

"I'm going with you." Jazz declared. "I'm old enough to take care of myself." That being said, Danny told her what he knew about the creatures, which wasn't much. More determined than ever, she went to acquire ghost weaponry, but Jack ran into his room, coming out with an elephant gun in his hand.

"Okay, do you know how to use that?" Danny asked worriedly. He was quite aware that his father was not the best shot, and with a rifle as powerful as that one… he didn't even know they had normal guns. "Where did you get it, anyway?"

"My brother got it for me around 10 years ago." Jack declared. "He's a hunter and survivalist, except he hunts deer, ducks, and on vacation, sharks. Maddie, go and get the others." She disappeared and reappeared with several rifles and pistols.

"Do we have to use those?" Jazz asked. She could use an ecto-weapon, but wasn't so sure about a normal one. Jack and Maddie put on ear protectors and nodded. Reluctantly, she took the 38 pistol. Danny didn't think he needed one, but eventually decided to take the shotgun. He never figured he'd be going on a killing spree with his family, but informing the authorities would take too long and he didn't particularly trust them anyway.

"Here's the buckshot." Jack said, handing him a container of around 200 shells. "You put 9 of them in, fire, and then reload. We'll cover you, don't worry." He began to explain how to use it, and that it worked well for inexperienced marksmen. Once he was finished, they left in the assault vehicle.

As usual, Jack drove like a madman, and Danny wondered how he could even get a license. At least it didn't take them long to get out of Amity. They drove carefully (by Jack's standards) and keeping their eyes peeled. They didn't find any of the creatures, but there were several deer carcasses from where the Xenomorphs fed.

"God, this is worse than the actual fighting." Jazz stated, looking around frantically. "How big did you say these things were?"

"Several inches high, I think, or something around that area." Danny replied, raising his voice to be heard over the protectors. "Considering how much they've eaten, they are probably twice that size by now."

"I see something!" Maddie exclaimed. Jack took out the elephant gun, though he thankfully didn't fire. Again, no creature, but they saw a skeleton with a few pieces of flesh attached to it. Maddie was just about ready to puke, and Jack wasn't far behind.

"We better take these things out now." Jack growled, gripping his gun tighter.

Danny took the protectors off, and heard a hissing sound. At first, he thought it was his imagination but the hissing continued. He turned into his ghost self, and charged up ecto-blasts.

"Danny, what is it?" Jack asked, but he didn't realize the creature was sneaking up behind him. However, Maddie saw him and shouted a warning. He barely dodged in time and fired the elephant gun twice. One of the shots hit, but the creature didn't fall. To their shock, it was almost 8 feet tall, had a very sharp tail, and lethal teeth.

Maddie and Jazz started firing to give Jack time to reload, but it didn't affect the creature much. There were a few traces of blood, but nothing more. Danny blasted it in the chest, and it roared, but it was again not seriously hurt. The creature swung its tail at them, forcing Maddie to perform a back-flip in order to avoid it. She unsheathed her machete, and waited for it to move.

Jack had finally reloaded, and fired another two shots. Both were direct hits, and the creature roared, but it wasn't enough. Danny rammed into the side, firing a powerful blast into its ace. It swung its tail blindly, catching Danny in the back. Luckily for him, it didn't stab him with the end.

"Get away from them!" he demanded, recovering. He hated to admit it, but that attack had hurt, a lot more than he expected. This thing was strong, maybe too strong. He fired a shot into its back, getting its attention. Jazz picked up the shotgun and fired from less than 10 feet away. She screamed in pain from the sound, but was otherwise unhurt.

"Jesus, what the fuck are you?" Danny exclaimed. He didn't normally swear that badly, but his nerves were badly shaken. He conjured ice around the creature, but it got away before he could seal him. His family continued firing, but it climbed up a tree and jumped onto another one.

"Get into a circle!" Maddie yelled. "We don't know what it's going to do next." It jumped at them, hissing, Maddie barely managing to get away from its grip. Jack fired yet again, this time at almost point blank range. A slight amount of acid was splashed on his arm, hurting terribly, but the monster slowly started to fall.

"They can grow this quickly?" Danny asked himself. "I think we're going to need some help."

"Okay, now we know they can be beaten, although it's difficult." Jazz replied, her ears still ringing. "Still, we better get out of here and tell the authorities what we can."

"It wasn't a total loss." Maddie sighed. 'We did find out some useful things about these monsters." They heard more hissing and pointed their guns in all directions. They slowly made their way to the assault vehicle only to find another creature waiting for them. It had something akin to a grin on its face and pounced.

Danny blasted it in mid-air, sending it to the ground. Again, he tried his ice powers, but they were ineffective and the monster attempted to bite him. "This thing has a second mouth?" Danny yelled in shock and terror. He turned intangible, but when he passed through him, he screamed as some of the acid came with him. He managed to get it off, and was not mortally hurt, thanks to his resilience. Danny grabbed the creature and slowly flew into the air. When they were around 60 feet high, he threw it as hard as he could and watched as it slammed with a loud thud.

"We've got to get out of here!" Jazz screamed, firing her gun, but the 38 barely even slowed the creature down. There was more gunfire in the distance, and she figured more people were in the same situation. The creature got up, badly bruised and made its way toward her, although noticeably slower than before.

"See you in hell!" Jack exclaimed as he put the gun to the creature's head and fired. At that range, even it could not survive and it collapsed, although its blood rendered the gun worthless. There were screams and Danny rushed to see if there was anything he could do.

He saw about a dozen cops firing at the creature, but their bullets had little effect on its tough hide. From the looks of it, some of them had already fallen. Danny fired at the alien, knocking it off balance, but not hurting it much.

"We better get the fucking army!" One of the cops exclaimed, obviously scared out of his mind.

"Just get out of here; I'll keep the creature busy." Danny demanded. Another creature showed up and took out two police before they could get out of the way. Danny carried it and threw the creature into its comrade. If this got any worse, Danny knew even he couldn't win this fight. According to Murphy's Law, it did as a third creature joined them. Jack, Maddie, and Jazz showed up, for all the good it would do. The elephant gun was the only thing that took them out, and only at almost point-blank range.

They joined together, deciding to die fighting. Before the creatures got to them, Danny unleashed his ghostly wail. They made stiff resistance, but eventually the sonic waves tore them apart and they fell. However, Danny was too exhausted to continue fighting and they fled. He almost went back to human form, but managed to hold his ghost self.

"What were you guys doing here?" Jack wondered.

"We were looking for the missing kids." One of the police managed to choke out. "All of a sudden, that… thing impaled one of my friends. We fought back, but our bullets couldn't get through it."

"Are there any other teams out there?" asked Maddie. He nodded, saying there was one deeper in the woods. "Call them back immediately; they're walking into a trap."

They attempted to get them on the radio, but there was no answer. Everyone bowed their heads in respect, knowing what had happened to them. There was nothing they could do, so they drove out of there. All of them knew it was only the beginning. Those creatures were very deadly, and grew quickly.

Danny sat down in the RV, grieving for the victims of the monsters.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Vlad was thankful that nobody managed to get in his lab. It was obvious they had tried, but it was secure against human and ghost. He took the spear inside one of his scanners and analyzed it. It didn't match any known metal on earth and from the looks of it, was stronger than them as well.

"Never thought I'd believe in aliens." Vlad muttered to himself. However, it was looking more and more like a possibility. The metal was partly titanium, molybdenum, along with a couple others the scan couldn't identify. He switched it to the ectoplasmic scan and there was almost 10 times what would have been expected. What was more surprising was that it had fused to the spear, making it very hard. "This is certainly interesting. If I can find out how these things managed to fuse ectoplasm to metal, I'll be able to copy their technology. Let's see if anything else has the same properties."

Next, he scanned the disk of the alien Daniel had killed. It had most the same characteristics, but was considerably stronger around the edges than the interior. As an experiment, he threw it towards the door. It was buried almost 3 inches through it, in spite of the fact that it was reinforced steel. Automatically, it came back to the alien, although he didn't know why. "Perhaps this disk has a target mechanism that returns it to its owner."

He threw it again with similar results. Vlad smirked, knowing what this would mean. He had no intention of giving this technology to anyone. True, he didn't have time to copy it, but he intended to use the spear, as there was a replacement in case the first was destroyed. It would likely be able to kill whatever those creatures were. He swung it around, learning how to use it correctly. He was hardly an expert in melee weapons, but it would suffice for the moment.

Predictably, Clockwork showed up in his child form, looking at Vlad. "They're going to need you now." He stated calmly. "The creatures are moving towards Amity Park and will arrive very soon. I see you are researching new technology." He shifted to his adult form

"Yes, the possibilities are quite amazing, aren't they?" Vlad replied. "They somehow managed to fuse ectoplasm to their metal; simply amazing. Well, like you said, Daniel will need me. Just don't expect me to become like him."

"I'd never dream of it, Vlad." Clockwork smiled, shifting back to a child. "Simply be on your guard, as they have fully matured. Who knows? You might even learn a few things from this experience."

"I know I owe you; you don't have to keep reminding me. I honestly don't want to see any harm come to Daniel and certainly not Maddie. Let me think: the military will likely be called in to deal with this threat, but if they capture me, it'd be less than I deserve."

"Vlad, you have some good in you. Danny may not see it, but I do. I've helped you as much as I can. I'd go and assist myself, but… the Observants are very unhappy with me for saving you."

"I figured they would be after I freed Vortex. How do I get there in time, though? I hid a good deal of my money years ago, but almost anyone would notice me. Flying wouldn't get me there in time, and I'm already somewhat weary from the trip here."

"You forget; I'm the Master of time." He gave him a time medallion and said "Time out!" They flew for a while and arrived near a fighter plane. "You can use this. In order to do so…"

"I have an idea how to fly a fighter plane." That at least was true. His long term plans were to equip it with ghost weaponry along with some of the materials he obtained from the alien. He got inside the seat, and once Clockwork declared "Time in!" He started the plane, which was actually quite simple. Before anyone could stop him, he flew off. Vlad only hoped he would be able to see Amity Park at these speeds, and that he wouldn't be too late to help.

XXXXXXXX

For the Fentons, Tucker, and Sam, it was little more than a waiting game. All of them knew that those things would be heading for Amity. Jack was busy modifying the Specter Speeder with more weapons. Maddie took out several knifes and a katana, all of which were glowing with ectoplasm, and strapping them to her side. Tucker, Sam, and Jazz took whatever weapons they could find.

"Good news!" Jack exclaimed. "I've modified the weapon so that they can take out those creatures too. It took me a good amount of time to figure out how, but long story short, they'll be effective. Even better, they seal the wound so their acidic blood won't cause any harm.

"How did you do it so quickly?" Tucker asked.

"We knew how to do it as soon as we had large amounts of ectoplasm." Jack explained with a smile. "It's a matter of separating the different types of energy to what's harmful to ghosts and what is to living things. It's not complete, but they attack primarily one or the other."

Danny transformed into Phantom, since he was now somewhat rested. "Okay, let's get them. We can't let them get their claws on innocents."

"We're with you, Danny." Sam promised, kissing him. "Before you tell us to stay out of the way, no, I won't… I know the risks and I'm coming anyway."

"Yeah, me too," Tucker agreed. "I may be afraid of them, but since when has that ever stopped us?"

"I learned better years ago, so I wasn't going to." Danny protested. "Who I'm worried about is Valerie. Ever since she learned who I was, she's not sure about me. I don't want to be blasted when fighting those weird creatures."

"We'll make sure that doesn't happen." Jack promised.

"Now we obviously have to come up with some sort of plan." Jazz stated. "Aim at their heads, and keep their attention focused on us rather than others who can't fight back. We stick together. Nobody is sacrificing themselves; this means you, Danny! Team, let's go."

Sam and Tucker followed Danny while Jazz joined her father in the Specter Speeder. Maddie took her double bladed ghost staff, setting it to a different kind of energy. Not a moment too soon, since already reports were coming in about many strange creatures attack the outskirts of Amity. Some people had been taken; others were killed for food. The police was battling them, but were sorely outmatched.

Danny nodded grimly and dived into the fray.

XXXXXXXXX

"Elder Jonlr'de, we should be entering earth's atmosphere soon." One of the warriors informed him.

"Thank you." Jonlr'de replied. "Get the others ready to move if they have not already done so." The other left and he was alone with his thoughts. Jonlr'de had been around for 300 years and was among the first to begin hunting oomans. Recently, though the deaths of the warriors had increased greatly. Now that a bad blood had unleashed the Kainde Amedha on them, he did not think they were to be capable of concealing their existence for much longer. Hell, a small group of government officials had been trying to capture a Yajuta for years.

Even so, he had his orders from the High Elders: kill the Kainde Amedha and anything infected with them. Despite their advances, Jonlr'de doubted the oomans could stop their new enemy. It was possible that soon they would have to reveal themselves, but the oomans were known for traitorous acts and could not be trusted.

They had brought a total of 15 warriors (But I'm only giving names to about 3) 6 of them unblooded. All of them volunteered for this hunt for their rite of passage, the blooding ritual. From all accounts, a total of 83 Hard Meat eggs had been stolen.

However, there were reports of other creature in that particular settlement. Two of the Yajuta had been killed, and one of this particular species was able to hold off two of them alone, a feat they considered impossible for an ooman. Trey're gave his father's spear to one as one warrior to another. Perhaps he was also hunting the hard meat?

A siren went off, indicating that they had entered Earth atmosphere. Once they landed, Jonlr'de ordered two of the blooded warriors to guard the ship in case the oomans attempted to capture it as they once managed before. Fortunately, it was in utter ruin, irreparable. They ran towards the city, where the outskirts of battle could be heard.

I know this is boring, but I need to get the plot set up. The Predators considered the Xenomorphs the most dangerous prey, and eagerly hunt them. Let me know if I have to change the rating to M. The next chapter is very graphic.

In addition, I have no idea what Yajuta are named and am going by fanfiction. I think I said this before, but I want to make sure this is known.

Translations

Ooman-human

Yajuta- Predator

Kainde amedha- Zenomorphs


	3. WAR!

Damn, I'm making record time here. It's a good thing I've got plenty of spare time at the college. Yeah, I should be studying, but I have a good enough memory to get away with it. I'll try to keep this story to 8 chapters, since I'm not good at updating longer stories. (Sorry)

Don't worry; you'll finally get to see the Predators and Xenomorphs. However, the real drama is how people will react to Vlad's return. Since I'm bored, I'll be writing something I find quite amusing at the end of the chapter.

Danny turned intangible as one of the Xenomorph snapped its smaller mouth at him. It stung slightly, because of the acidic blood, but didn't bother him much. He kicked him aside, trying to get to the police. He briefly wondered why some walked on 4 legs, while others were on two, but it didn't matter at the moment.

Speaking of which, they knew perfectly well that this was not a battle they could win. SWAT had already been called, but it may very well be too late by the time they arrive. For now, their purpose was to get as many civilians out of the danger zone as they could.

Jack and Jazz flew around in the speeder, targeting any Xenomorph within range (I'm going to use the term Xenomorph, since calling them "creatures" is getting kind of boring) None of them had fallen, but the lasers cut off a couple of tails along with a claw. For the moment, their tactic worked.

Maddie, on the other hand, was using a combination of techniques. Her ghost staff was somewhat effective against them, and her martial arts abilities kept her out of their reach. Even so, she knew that if they got a hold of her, she was as good as dead. She rolled to the left to avoid a claw swipe and buried the staff into its stomach. Furiously, it smacked it aside and pursued her. She dodged several times and took out her katana.

Afraid but determined, she slashed at the xenomorph's neck, cutting part of it off. Blood spurted everywhere, but the creature was more furious than ever. The sword was beginning to melt in spite of the protection, but she managed to behead before it became completely unusable.

Out of everyone, Danny was the only fighter that was doing well. He learned the creatures could climb walls with great speed, and covered the police, making sure none of them were ambushed. He didn't want to use his wail unless there was no choice. He grabbed another Xenomorph by the tail and threw into the one that was fighting with Maddie.

"How the hell are we getting out of this?" One of the police demanded. "SWAT better show up soon!"

"Get as many of your comrades out as possible." Danny replied, wincing as a Xenomorph bit his arm. Blood was pouring to the ground and Danny flew to the top of a building. He charged up energy in his good hand and started fusing the wound together. He hissed in pain, but it had to be done. "It'll heal soon enough. At least now I won't lose any more blood."

Not that it really mattered; they were quickly crumbling. Most of the police had fled, taking their wounded comrades with them. The few that had stayed were quickly killed and eaten by the Xenomorphs. A few of them had fallen, mainly thanks to the Fentons, but they weren't going to last much longer.

The assault vehicle showed up, being chased by two Xenomorphs. Sam was firing the weapons on top of the thing, while Tucker was driving like a maniac, desperately trying to lose them. The RV fired several ice blasts, trapping them for a few seconds. It was enough for Jazz and Jack to eliminate one of them before the other freed itself. Danny had to admit, the ones on 4 legs were fast, almost able to keep up with the RV. However, Tucker's driving was too much for them.

Seeing that they were handling themselves, Danny flew beside his mother, blocking one of the Xenomorphs with an ecto-shield. "Thanks, sweetie." Maddie smiled. "You gave me enough time to use this!" She took out the modified Fenton Peeler and blasted the Xenomorph. Acid spilled from it, some catching Maddie in the leg. Furiously, Danny punched the Xenomorph in the chest, sending it over 10 yards.

He looked at the wound and saw that it had eaten almost to her bone. Danny turned her intangible, reducing the pain, tore off part of her jumpsuit and wrapped it around her. He flew up towards the Speeder, putting her inside. Jack looked grim and targeted the weapons again.

"We'll have to get out of here soon, son." Jack informed him. "We're down to 15 power."

"I'll take care of it." Danny nodded, diving towards the Xenomorph. "You're going to pay for that, motherfucker!" (Yeah, it's out of character, but you never see something like this is the show, so don't complain) His hands glowed with power and he unleashed it. Instead of rays, though, it was a huge burst of ectoplasmic lightning that fried the Xenomorph. It was dead, but another was coming towards him.

Only to have its head cut off. Danny quickly flew underground to get away from the acidic blood. Around 15 figures appeared, probably similar to the one he had bested previously.

SWAT had finally arrived and was shooting the Xenomorphs. They weren't having much success, but at least it was possible. Danny didn't care right now, though. He wanted to find Sam and Tucker.

It didn't take long. They were cornered by a Xenomorph completely helpless. It grabbed onto Sam, only to have Danny fire an ice beam towards it. He long since learned it wouldn't kill it, but at least it gave them time. Again, though, the Xenomorph was killed, this time with a spear to the head.

Danny floated in shock, but snapped out of it when the other creature grabbed Sam and Tucker, examining them closely.

XXXXX

Artn'de looked at the two oomans and scanned them. They were not infected and unarmed, so he was forced to let them go. Sighing, he went towards the Kainde Amedha, intending to mark himself, but the other creature fired strange energy towards him.

Never one to back down from a challenge, he unsheathed his blades and fired the Plasma Caster. It had blocked every shot, although with difficulty. Artn'de knew it was a warrior, watching it kill three of the Hard Meat. It would be a great challenge and his victory would gain him honor. Giving something akin to a grin, he beckoned him forward.

His opponent cautiously advanced, although it was obvious that he was very angry. His hands glowed and he waited for the right moment. Artn'de slowly moved forward as well, dodging one of the blasts. When he moved towards the wall, however, he found it impossible to grip his grip, as the being had coated it with ice.

_What is this thing? _Artn'de wondered. As far as he knew, no creature they had encountered possessed such a wide range of abilities. It grabbed the spear and prepared for him. Losing patience, Artn'de rushed towards him, his wrist blades ready to tear the creature apart. It thrusted the strike towards its neck, only to have the attack blocked. It tried again, and saw the blade go right through him. The creature flew above him, firing bursts of green energy.

He hated to admit it, being a warrior, but he was frightened. He fired the Caster yet again, trying to get him into a position where he had the advantage. Artn'de prey saw it coming, though, and flew through the walls. He readied the disk, waiting for him to reappear.

However, he didn't expect the thing to come up through the ground and grab his wrists. Artn'de struggled, but the creature held firm, and it actually hurt. His hands started glowing blue, and his controls for the wrist blades were frozen. He head-butted the enemy, sending his opponent to the ground; he clearly didn't expect such a bold move. The ice didn't harm the armor, but the wires were destroyed.

Suddenly, he was punched in the gut by one ooman and kicked across the jaw by another. They stood in front of his opponent, the man wielding metal gloves and the woman using a knife. The latter had a burn on her leg, clearly an injury from the Hard Meat.

Thoroughly tired of this, Artn'de charged forward, backhanding the man, and sending his blades towards the woman. She managed to parry the blows, but the difference in strength soon made itself clear. However, the man grabbed him around the neck, Artn'de gasping from his surprisingly strong grip. The ooman grabbed his mask and tried to pull it off. He threw him over and pressed his foot on his chest.

Even so, he managed to wiggle through when the woman kicked him in the neck, where his armor was weak. She grabbed onto his arm, forcing the blade away from her comrade. _Mates, perhaps?_ Again, he threw her against the wall and attempted to stab her… since her mate took the blow for her. The blade went through his gut, blood pooling up around him. The woman was horrified, but the man, despite his terrible injury, fought to protect her. Artn'de bowed his head in respect. This ooman was brave, and a skilled fighter, as was his mate.

Still, he wondered where his other opponent was. He received his answer by seeing it finish off one of the Hard Meat, and saw it charge towards him. Before their fight could continue, Artn'de was stabbed through the chest. He turned around, seeing a similar creature resembling an ooman demon. "Dishonorable creature…" it whispered with his last strength and everything went black.

XXXXXXXX

"You got what you deserved, you fucker." Vlad growled furiously, as he recalled the conjured ecto-sword. He wasn't one for swearing, but this creature had threatened Maddie! Kicking it to the ground, he looked into Daniel's eyes, where he saw a mixture of hate and confusion.

"What are you doing here, Plasmius?" Danny demanded. "I thought you were left in space."

"No time for questions, Daniel." Vlad snapped in reply. He grabbed Jack gently, while he had a duplicate restrain Maddie. His hand glowed at the blood-pouring wound and he saw that Jack was quickly losing consciousness. He pushed his hand towards, slowly sealing it. Vlad may not have liked Jack, even now, but he no longer wished to see him dead, and it would cause Maddie a great deal of pain, in any case. "He's lost a lot of blood. Get him to a hospital. I'll deal with these monsters."

"Why are you here, Vlad?" Jazz asked, pointing a gun at him along with Tucker and Samantha.

"Believe it or not, I'm here to help." Vlad sighed, not wanting to waste precious time with arguments. "You kids are now defenseless, so get out of here and let me handle it."

"He's right; I don't want you to get hurt any further." Daniel agreed. "However, I'm staying with you, Plasmius. I don't trust you in the least."

"Duly noted," Vlad replied, keeping some of the suave in his voice. He flew out into the battlefield, where over two dozen of the creatures were still around. Many of the SWAT team had fallen, as had two of the other species. However, they were also fighting with each other in addition to the Xenomorphs.

Danny and Vlad worked almost seamlessly, attacking Xenomorphs right and left. Several surrounded them, but Vlad wasn't worried. He duplicated himself into 4, each of them attacking one. Danny fought with two, careful to stay out of their reach. He blasted one, sending the energy down its throat. While it was disabled, he threw the other one into a cement wall, punching it mercilessly.

Vlad quickly dealt with two of the duplicates, learning their weak point was just below the neck. He threw Daniel the spear. "It's capable of killing both sides; use it wisely." Danny nodded and immediately speared the Xenomorph, keeping it there to ensure its death. Vlad turned to two of his duplicates: "Cover Daniel!" he ordered, and they flew to do so.

He grabbed another one and delivered a shock to it. The Xenomorph's tail caught Vlad in the leg. Fortunately, his duplicate bought enough time for him to regain his balance. Vlad focused his energy and severed the head, letting it fall to the ground.

"Hey, Vlad, I already got two!" Danny called out, dodging another attempted impaling.

"I didn't know it was a contest" Vlad replied. "Besides, I have five under my belt." He broke the neck of another Xenomorph. "Okay, make that 6. You want a contest, Daniel? I'm happy to oblige!" He saw Daniel fly towards the SWAT team, attacking a couple of Xenomorphs that were giving them trouble.

Vlad continued to fight, but watched the other creatures warily. They were currently fighting their common enemy, having more success than the authorities, but once it was over, he was fairly sure that they would start attacking them. Proving his point, one of them killed the SWAT leader.

Thankfully, there was currently more hope. Danny and Vlad worked together of some level, although the alliance was grudging at best. The Predators utterly refused to work with whom they considered dishonorable, a couple even attacking them. All in all, it was a chaotic scene, with buildings being destroyed left and right.

Danny fired the ghostly wail, taking out 4 more Xenomorphs and hitting over half of the predators. It didn't seriously affect them, since they were not in the direct line of fire, but the Xenomorphs took the advantage and killed one. Still, they were slowly winning the battle. All but 8 were killed, and the survivors were fleeing.

Letting the others deal with him, he grabbed Daniel by the arm, since he was almost completely out of power, but three of the others surrounded the duo. SWAT aimed their weapons, ready to fire at a moment's notice. A fourth one showed up, grabbing the shoulder of one of them, and the others stood back. Vlad guessed that he was the leader.

He was talking to them in their native language, which neither of them hybrids understood. Vlad stood protectively over Danny, ready in case any of them tried again. He wondered why he was doing this. Despite the fact Vlad and changed, there was still a great deal of tension between the two rivals.

"Do any of you speak English?" Vlad asked them.

"I do." One replied in a mechanical voice. "I built these translators based on it. My name is Umbra, after the full shadow. It is a pleasure to meet two such warriors. The one you are protecting, he is a youngling?"

"How can you speak our language?" Danny asked.

"He is." Vlad interrupted, not wanting to offend them. He could still fight, but Daniel was in no condition to.

"All the more impressive," Umbra replied. "To answer your question, I was stranded here when I was young and an ooman family took me in. As a result, I learned your language quite well. In case you're wondering, our species is called Yajuta."

"So why are you here?" Danny demanded. "One of your kind killed over 20 officers two weeks ago and tried to kill me!"

"We hunt oomans that we considered dangerous enough to be worthy prey." Umbra. "I have a slight soft spot for them, which is why I only hunt the Bad Blood?"

"You mean criminals?" Danny asked, to which Umbra nodded."

"Congratulations, you finally used your brain." Vlad said sardonically. "It's about time."

"Like you're any better, Vlad." Danny replied. "Does the cabin incident remind you of anything, or maybe the disasteroid?"

"Enough." Umbra snapped sternly. "In any case, we're here to stop the Kainde Amedha… what we call those things, along with anything that's infected. I'll try to convince my comrades not to hunt you, but there will be some that will not listen."

"Then pass a message to them." Vlad smirked. "If any of you attack Maddie, Jazz, Daniel, or any of his friends, I will not hesitate to kill you. I'll also protect Jack until he's healed. After that, fight at your own risk." Danny glared death, which Vlad made a point to ignore.

"Your relationship is rather… complex to say least." Umbra stated.

"The least," Danny corrected."You know, you seem much more docile than the others. Why?"

"That's because I have a soft spot for your species, having grown up with loving ones for a good part of my life." Umbra replied. "I only hunt your… criminals. Also, it is dishonorable to attack a fellow warrior without serious provocation; your correction does not qualify." Some of the others were talking in their own language, while Umbra nodded. "A couple decided to listen, while others don't care what you say. My Elder will agree if your species stop pointing their weapons towards us."

"Lower your weapons." Danny exclaimed, the SWAT officers completely bewildered. Slowly, they complied, but were still ready to raise them again. "So how many deaths are there?"

"Three of our kind, and a couple hundred of yours," Umbra told them. "I give the first… policemen credit. They known they could not win, and sacrificed themselves to protect the innocent. For what is worth, they have my respect."

"I'll let the families know." Vlad declared dryly. "You have a certain code of honor, only attacking the aggressive and leaving innocents alone?" Umbra nodded. "So why did one of your species unleash these beasts?"

"It was a bad blood, a criminal." Umbra explained. "Two were sent to kill him, but you beat us to it. More were sent when it was learned they were loose."

"I'm afraid we have to go." Danny told them. "I have to check on my dad; you should find the one that injured him in an alley."

"Hopefully, our next meeting will be more pleasant." Vlad stated, offering his hand. After a moment's hesitation, Umbra shook it, looking him in the eye.

"We're not leaving until all the kainde amedha are killed." Umbra declared. "There is a facehugger still loose, one that plants a queen embryo. Be careful… Vlad, was it? This battle is not over." Some of the Yajuta snarled in protest, wanting to fight them, but their leader silenced them quickly. The two left, still confused over the recent developments.

"Be on your guard, Daniel." Vlad warned. "They are similar to insects, and if there's a queen out there, this is likely to get much worse."

"Let's just go to the hospital and see dad." Danny sighed. "I still don't trust you, Vlad. You're up to something, I know it."

XXXXXXX

His words would turn out to be correct, since said facehugger was wandering around, searching for the perfect host. Finally, it spotted a potential. It knew the drones could sometimes lay eggs, but the Hive needed a queen.

To her misfortune, Paulina was walking near him. She was badly shaken by the day's events and wanted to clear her head. The Facehugger spotted and once she went inside her house, it followed. She was alone in her bedroom when it pounced, knocking her on her back. She fought valiantly, but it was too strong and soon had her completely under its power.

Next chapter is when new players arrive in Amity Park. Danny learns the hard way that the battle is not over.

Moe: Moe's tavern.

Bart: Is Mr. Freely there?

Moe: Who?

Bart: Freely. First initials I P

Moe: Hold on I'll check. Is I.P. Freely there? Hey, everybody, I.P Freely! (everyone laughs) Wait a minute… listen to me, you lousy bum. When I get a hold of you, you're dead. I swear I'm going to slice your heart in half. (Bart and Lisa laugh)

Homer: You'll get that punk somebody, Moe.

Moe: I don't know; he's tough to catch. Keeps changing his name.


	4. tensions

I want to update faster, so I waited until I had a few of the chapters up before I sent them in. Hopefully, it'll be about once a week.

Moe: Moe's tavern, Moe speaking.

Bart: Is Jacques there?

Moe: Who?

Bart: Jacques, last name strap.

Moe: Hold on. Uh, Jacques Strap. Guys, I'm looking for a Jacques Strap. (Everyone laughs) Wait a minute… Jock Strap… it's you, isn't it, you cowardly little runt? When I get a hold of you, I'm going to gut you like a fish and drink your blood (Bart laughs loudly)

Area 51: (I don't actually believe it, but its fun to toy with, so I'm adding it)

"Those creatures have returned? You're sure?" a voice asked.

"I was lucky to get out of there alive, General." Another replied. "They were fighting with some other sort of alien, along with a SWAT team. Thankfully, Danny Phantom saved me."

"I've heard a good amount about him," Said the first. "Perhaps we can get him to help us. Did you manage to get the weapons away from the fallen ones?"

"Yeah, but it took some time. Their ship is outside Amity Park, but there are guards around it. We need to send in a team immediately."

"I've taken care of that. Unlike that fool Keyes, I'm not going to bother capturing them. We're almost ready to move; we just need to get the heavy artillery."

"You know not to underestimate them, right?"

"Of course, Captain. I'll see if I can get Phantom to help us. He's supposedly the town hero, and since they've killed a couple hundred people, he should agree." He ended the conversation, and turned towards a woman standing behind him.

"Dutch, this is not your personal war." She informed. "Those things are dangerous, probably more so than we know."

"Anna, one of those beasts killed every friend I had." Dutch declared angrily. "More than that, they hunt us for sport. I'm going to make sure that ends. This time, I know what I'm up against. Night vision goggles are able to see them and if we can hit them, our weapons will penetrate their armor.

"All right, Dutch, it's your decision." Anna sighed. "Watch those other creatures. They may be even more dangerous." Ever since they joined a group determined to take the Predators down, both had gained status in the military. True, only the top members of the CIA knew of their existence (they kept it even from the President), but Dutch had received his promotion to general 5 years previous.

"Hey, Dutch, it's been a long time." Colonel Ziegler declared. "Nice to know I'm finally back."

"So how far did your crew manage to get?" Dutch asked. "You've been in space for almost a year. It's a good idea to try and regain strength since we weren't able to get much artificial gravity in that thing." Over 40 years ago, a Predator ship crashed into Roswell, New Mexico. They spent the last decades trying to figure out and copy their technology. Only in the last several years did they have any success. Even so, the engine that allowed them to travel light-years remained a mystery."

"We got about 500 million miles past Pluto. Keyes was right about one thing: It is truly amazing what their technology can give us. Once we figure out how to operate the warp drive, we'll beat them."

"They likely have technology we have no idea about." Anna warned. "They could very well destroy our entire planet if they chose."

"I don't intend to destroy the entire species. What I want is for them to leave us alone." They had managed to copy their weapons somewhat, but were still not as powerful as the originals. Still, they didn't have time to finish their copies. A city was being attacked, and they weren't about to stand back and let them take over.

XXXXXXX

"So how is he, doctor?" Vlad asked, to his surprise actually concerned. They had been waiting almost a day for news.

"I managed to get him a blood transfusion." The doctor replied. He was in his 60's and exhausted. "He's not in good shape, but Mr. Fenton is a lot better off than many victims of this attack. Some of them have already died thanks to some kind of acid."

"Can we go and see him?" Jazz asked. The doctor nodded, beckoning them forward. Danny spent most of his time glaring at Vlad, as were Sam and Tucker. Maddie didn't do anything, but she gave him the cold shoulder. They saw Jack lying on a hospital bed, wrapped in bandages.

"How are you feeling, Jack?" Maddie asked. She held his hand as everyone surrounded his bed.

"I'll be all right." Jack chuckled. "Once I get out of here, I'm getting back to the action. Amity Park needs to be protected."

"Dad, no!" Danny exclaimed. "You almost died out there. I couldn't live with myself if that happens. Let me handle this, okay?"

"It's your choice." Vlad sighed. "I would advise against it, but I won't stop you. You always were one to charge into things… reminds me of someone I know."He sent a pointed glance in Danny's direction.

"Shut up, Vlad." Danny replied. "I'm barely refraining from punching you right now. Why didn't Valerie show up?"

"Because someone decided to tie me up in the basement," Valerie exclaimed. "Masters here decided to use his ghost powers to keep me locked up."

"It was for your own good, Miss Grey." Vlad smirked. "You're quite impulsive, even against unknown enemies. Daniel would never forgive me if you died."

"Enough." Tucker interrupted. "This isn't the time for fighting. Once these things are beaten, you guys can argue all you want. Any news from the… Yajuta?"

"No; they haven't attacked any of us yet." Danny replied, thankful. "Still, that queen thing is out there, and so are a few of those things."

"A few people are missing." Sam added. "Ordinarily, I wouldn't take any notice of it, but they aren't the sort of people that run away for no reason. Maybe those aliens kidnapped them to use as hosts."

"Guys, I want to say something." Jack stated weakly. "Vlad, thanks for saving me, but I still don't trust you. It's going to take a long time to regain it, if I ever do. For now, though, let's put that aside and deal with this. Has the army arrived yet?"

"Yes, but they haven't been much help." Valerie sighed. "It won't be long before they start fighting with our… visitors." They all knew it, much as they didn't want to admit the fact. They didn't have time for this, even though the two forces really were not working together. The sides hated one another, except for Umbra, Vlad in particular.

"One of them have already attacked me." Vlad admitted. "And Daniel… I did save your father. Try to show a little more gratitude, boy!"

"Why?" he demanded. "This is all part of another pathetic plan to win my mom over. Everyone knows you'll never forgive him. Why should I believe someone as pathetic and lonely as you? I'll bet even your parents hated you."

For a few seconds, Vlad's eyes glowed red. He raised his hand, intending to teach him some respect, but eventually refrained from doing so. Clenching his fists, he left the room, trying to resist the urge to blast everything in sight. He'd be doing it soon enough, in any case.

"You shouldn't have said that about Vlad, Danny." Maddie shook her head. "There's a lot about him you don't know. It's not my secret to tell, but maybe he'll tell you when he's ready."

"You let me see my papa right now, puto!" Paulina screamed at a nurse, obviously furious. Sam was interested in how it would play, but Danny turned away, not wanting to see any more.

"Ma'am, your father is in critical condition." The nurse replied. "You can see him once he's out of surgery."

"Shut up, Paulina." Sam snapped, revealing herself. "You're not the only one who's lost someone, so stop being such a self-centered bitch!"

"What are you doing here, Goth?" Paulina demanded. "That's right; you get turned on by dead bodies! Leave me alone!" Sam stepped forward, but Danny grabbed her by the arm, slowly pulling her back.

"It's not worth it, Sam, it's not worth it." Danny said, finally managing to persuade her from giving Paulina a bed in the hospital. He kissed her gently and wrapped his arms around her.

"When did you get so romantic, Sam?" Tucker laughed. "Just give a guy some warning, will you? I don't want to see anything that'll scar me!"

XXXXXXX

Vlad flew through the clouds of Amity, trying to calm himself down. That idiot boy had no idea what he was talking about, and actually enjoyed his hurt expression! "Why did I ever care about him?" Vlad yelled to the sky. "I'd never say anything that malicious!" Worse than that, it reminded him of parts of his past Vlad had spent most of his life trying to forget. It was why Maddie's situation as a child made him so furious.

After a while, Vlad's fury turned to depression. It was why he was so broken up when he learned Jack and Maddie got together: they were all he had. He felt like a third wheel, being constantly reminded that Maddie would never return his feelings. "I hope I find some of those… Kainde Amedha." Vlad laughed. "It'll give me something to vent on."

He flew down towards Amity, searching for them. Vlad didn't manage to find any, but he saw several soldiers in deep battle with a Predator. Two soldiers were already dead, but the others were holding their own quite well. Even though they couldn't see him, they had a good idea where the shots were coming from and had the sense to take cover. Vlad watched with mild interest, despite his annoyance. "Those idiots are wasting their time. We have to kill those creatures before they reproduce and overwhelm us. If they want to fight amongst themselves, fine; I'll search myself."

He figured they were likely to be underground, where they could hide from any potential threats. Vlad flew into the sewers, hoping to find some clue to their presence, but there was nothing. That is, until… "Wait a minute; that looks like a broken egg. I must be near the nest." Vlad flew in further, his hands glowing with violet energy, ready to unleash it at a moment's notice.

He heard something and was preparing to fire, but it was only the Box Ghost, on the ground and bleeding. "I, the almighty, Box Ghost, am in great pain!" He exclaimed, not knowing anything else was there. Vlad flew to get a closer look, and saw there was a large hole in his chest. It was slowly sealing up, thanks to ghosts' enhanced healing abilities, but he imagined it was still very painful.

Vlad heard an inhuman cry behind him, and saw a newborn Xenomorph. He fired two energy blasts, but the thing actually flew above them and fled, crawling on the walls. "Those things can infect ghosts?" Vlad stammered in shock. Still, it would have to be when they were vulnerable, such as the Box Ghost. "Then we've got a much more serious situation than I imagined. I see why Clockwork told me Daniel would need help."

"Help! Help!" Exclaimed a distant voice, obviously terrified. Vlad rushed to see what it was, and saw Dash Baxter cocooned with an egg beside him. To be honest with himself, he hated the boy, since he reminded Vlad of the rich kids who never worked a day in their lives. True, his fortune was not obtained through honest means, but he had to work hard for it.

He wanted nothing more but to leave him, but if he did, Clockwork would likely seal him inside a Thermos, much like a demon who frequently tried to escape. Sighing, Vlad cut him loose and destroyed the egg. He turned both of them intangible and flew out of the sewers.

"Wait a minute!" Dash exclaimed, looking at his savior. "You're that Masters guy who held the Earth hostage. Help, he's trying to kidnap me." Vlad dropped him angrily, not caring it was more than a 10 foot drop. He knew he was going to be discovered sooner or later, but he would have preferred it to be someone who was not an utter idiot.

Even so, it wasn't a total loss. Vlad now had an idea where the nest was. He would have to inform the others, as well as warn them there was a creature with ghost powers.

"What are you doing here, Vlad?" Umbra asked. Nerves high, he grabbed him by the neck and threw him into the wall. He prepared another attack when he realized who it was.

"Sorry about that." Vlad apologized, something that was new to him. "I thought you were trying to attack me. Just so you know, I have an idea where the nest is."

"So do I," Umbra admitted. "Most of my comrades have been wasting time hunting the soldiers, despite my warnings. If we don't do anything soon, they are going to overwhelm the city. One of my clan has already been found dead, 2 Kainde Amedha beside him. That makes 5 casualties so far, and if they continue hunting humans, the number is likely to increase."

"So how many soldiers are there, to your knowledge?" Vlad asked. He had no intention of telling him his other find, since he didn't trust them. They considered humans a prey-species, after all, and at least some of them likely had a mind to take over.

"Around 1500, by my count. Over two dozen have been killed by my fellows, so members of your government are sending reinforcements. Some of your weapons are capable of killing us, and we've had a hard time staying alive."

"If you hunt them, I don't feel a lot of sympathy. How do you intend to keep your existence concealed?"

"We may not be able to. I don't want to think about how your kind will react to us."

"Understandable. I'm afraid I have to get back. Just so you know, those soldiers are already suspicious, most likely. Stick to hunting our common enemy." Vlad flew off, trying to shake a feeling of dread. He spotted Daniel flying around, likely looking for the others.

Danny sped up, and Vlad was curious as to the reason behind it. He saw one of the aliens go after a girl (Paulina, he thought it was) and just as she was cornered, Danny barreled into it, looking furious. He fired countless ecto-blasts, forcing him to retreat, but his opponent was a warrior and not about to give up.

"Let's see how far Daniel has progressed, shall we." Vlad smirked, watching the battle. He would intervene only if he felt it was necessary. Danny put up a shield, managing to withstand several shots from its cannon. However, Vlad noticed it was only trying to get Daniel out of the way, and get back to Paulina. "Daniel would be much worthier prey than that idiot girl. What about her is so important?"

Danny flew up, dodging to the right of the Predator's spear, and waited for his next move. He duplicated into 4 ("Impressive; he learns quickly") and flew in all directions, hoping to confuse him. One of them were destroyed by a well-timed plasma shot, but the other two grabbed the Predator's arms, making sure he couldn't get a hold of any other weaponry. Danny ripped off the shoulder, cannon, tossing it into a dumpster.

Furious, the Predator wrestled free, but he didn't realize he was about 50 feet in the air. He smashed into the concrete, struggling to regain his feet. Meanwhile, Danny tore off his mask, adding insult to injury by punching him in the chest. Unfortunately, the Predator still had some fight in him. He swung the spear around, cutting Danny's vein. As he tried frantically to stop the bleeding, his opponent launched the disk, intending to finish him. ("He doesn't learn, does he?")

Danny ducked and landed a kick to the Predator's midsection. Thankfully, he managed to seal the wound, which would heal by tomorrow. The Predator launched the net-gun, which he quickly dodged and destroyed. "Good thing they don't know how to fight ghosts." Danny muttered. He took the offensive with a flurry of punches.

In response, the Predator threw him against the wall. Furiously, he swung the spear around, all of his attacks missing due to his anger. Little did he know that a Xenomorph was above him and prepared to attack. Vlad saw it, waiting for the Predator's death. At the last moment, though, he threw the disk and cut it in half. The blood splashed on his armor, forcing him to tear it off.

Vlad decided enough was enough and threw him against the wall. The Predator tried to wiggle free, but he had a duplicate remove his weaponry. "You're going to answer my questions!' Vlad exclaimed, raising a glowing hand threateningly. "Why are you trying to kill her? Isn't it against your code?" When the Predator repeated him, he lost it and backhanded him into a dumpster.

"Vlad, that mask has a translator." Danny informed, handing it to the Predator. Once it was secure, he resumed his questioning. However, he refused to say anything, and even laughed at his threatening tone.

"Big mistake, pal," Vlad laughed, shocking him with electricity. "Let me make this clear: touch Daniel again, and your empty skull will be adorning my trophy room." The Predator ran off, hating how cowardly it seemed. Still, he was unarmed and that "warrior" would make good on his threat.

"I didn't know you had a trophy room."

"There's a lot of things you don't know about me, Daniel. I suggest you protect her, since she's important to them, and they're likely to make another attempt."

"Just what I need: a crazed fangirl. I hope Sam doesn't go ballistic on me." Vlad laughed, knowing how crazy the girl could be.

"We better head back. Just so you know, those creatures are forming a nest in the sewers. I'll make sure all of our visitors are taken care of. I don't trust their intentions."

XXXXXXXX

That night, everything was peaceful. However, it was not out of kindness, but of fear. Everyone now knew there was something very dangerous breeding in this town. They armed themselves, not knowing it would attract the Yaujta. Even the soldiers were frightened. A couple of the creatures had fallen to them with minimal loss, but there was another, smarter sort of creature hunting them. Some were armed almost to the teeth with body armor, machine guns, and grenades. A Platoon in downtown Amity even had a few miniguns with them on helicopters, since they were ordered to protect the school and orphanages in the area.

For a while, they thought ghosts were responsible, since Amity Park was known for it. However, once ghost weapons were proven to be largely ineffective, they knew it was something worse. An evacuation might become necessary, since they still didn't know where the remaining monsters were. To make matters worse, over a dozen had been kidnapped.

The Yaujta weren't in good shape either, healing wounds from acid and bullets. Not to mention there was a new kind of Kainde Amedha that killed another of their clan. Trey're told them that it was even able to phase through their melee weapons. By and large, they laughed, but they couldn't help but wonder.

Reinforcements were sent two weeks after they left, but the oomans were already aware of them and the situation was growing steadily worse. A couple Yaujta looked forward to hunting more of them, but the smarter ones realized it was a threat to their very existence. They were well-trained for oomans, and were heavily armed. Normally, this would be an optimal situation, but they also had the Kainde Amedha.

They heard from Umbra that the hive was in the ooman sewers. They didn't trust the source, since they considered Vlad dishonorable, but they had to check it out anyway. 6 of them were already dead, and the others' days were numbered.

"You wanted to see me, Elder Jonlr'de?" Asked Trey're, bowing in respect.

"As you can imagine, I have heard the rumors." He replied. "I wanted to know if they are true. I will not punish you; I simply wish to know if this is something we should prepare for."

"It is true; this Kainde Amedha has new abilities." Trey're informed, trying to keep the fear out of his voice. "They remind me of another creature I fought alongside my father. It killed our intended target and held its own against both of us. As I have heard it was only an ooman, who knows what the Hard Meat can do?"

"I see. Destroying this Hard Meat specimen is second only to killing the host for the unborn queen. Did he succeed?"

"No, elder. The warrior Daniel intervened, and fought him off. From his accounts, he was winning until the dishonorable one attacked, and threatened to kill him if either one was touched again. I believe they do not know what is growing inside her."

"Most likely; it is unfortunate that we have to kill an innocent, but the queen must not be born. I trust I can rely on your compliance?"

"Of course, Elder; I would like the honor of hunting the new Hard Meat. Still, it seems to be able to fire energy from its body, combined with its blood."

"This is disturbing. Take Umbra with you; it may have abilities we do not know about." Trey're nodded and left.

XXXXX

"Okay, what exactly is your great plan?" Vlad demanded. "I'm not exactly happy flying blind."

"Just be patient, my friend." Clockwork replied calmly, currently in his elderly form. "If you make the right choices, you'll manage to save your love interest, and you might even form a closer bond with Daniel. Pointing out that he had a lot in common with you is true, more so than either of you know."

"I thought you knew everything." Vlad sneered. "Why don't you get involved? I'm sure the Observants would be willing to make an exception. How about telling me what I'm supposed to do?"

"No, Vlad; this is something you have to do on your own. I can't bail you out of everything. In any case, every time I look into the future, I see something different. Just wait and you will know the answer." Clockwork disappeared as quickly as he had come.

"Damn meddling fool… can never give me a straight answer." Vlad groaned and decided to go to bed. He still left lonely, despite his insistence that he didn't need anyone. Vlad realized how wrong he was, but hoped the realization didn't come too late.

Kind of a lame ending, I know, but I'm not too good at them. Next chapter, you get to see the Ghost Zone getting involved in this affair. I'll also give you a little more information on Vlad's past.

Lisa: Come on, Bart, not again.

Bart: Where's your sense of humor? (dials phone)

Moe: Moe's tavern.

Bart: Is Al there?

Moe: Al?

Bart: Yeah, Al, last name Coholic.

Moe: Let me check. Phone call for Al; alcoholic. Is there an alcoholic here? (everyone laughs) Wait a minute… Listen, you yellow-bellied rat jackass, if I ever find out who you are, I'll kill you! (Bart and Lisa laugh)


	5. Eye of the storm

I really should be writing the last chapter of "Internal Darkness", but I'm trying to update at least somewhat frequently. It's a bad habit of mine to wait a month or more. I really should try focusing my attention on one story at a time. We're a little more than halfway through.

**Moe:** Moe's Tavern.**Bart:** Is Oliver there?**Moe:** Who?**Bart:** Oliver Clothesoff.**Moe:** Hold on, I'll check. Oliver Clothesoff! Call for "All of her clothes off"!**Bart/****Lisa:** (Laugh loudly)(Marge picks up the phone)**Moe:** Listen, you lousy bum, if I ever get a hold of you, I swear I'll cut your belly open!

**Moe:** Hello, Moe's Tavern, Birthplace of the Rob Roy.**Bart:** Is Seymour there? Last name Butz.**Moe:** Just a sec. Hey, is there a Butz here? Seymour Butz? Hey, everybody! I wanna "See more butts"! (Everyone laughs) Wait a minute...Listen, you little scum-sucking pus-bucket! When I get my hands on you, I'm gonna pull out your eyeballs with a corkscrew!

"Order! The meeting of the observant high council is called to Order!" stated the lead ghost. "Our first order of business: what do we do about the demons infecting Amity Park?"

Immediately, there was uproar. Some yelled to go in and destroy all the creatures, while others simply wanted to leave the humans to their fate. A few were more cautious, wanting more information before choosing a course of action. "Silence! We are protectors, not an unruly mob! Suggestions?"

"We need to learn more about these things before we commit to any rash actions." One of the council members declared. "I agree they must be stopped, especially considering their fast reproduction rate, but there are rumors that one of these beasts has our power."

"Impossible!" Another member scoffed. "How could they possibly obtain sufficient ectoplasm to use its energy at that size?"

"They breed inside living hosts." The first replied. "It's quite possible they can latch on us as well."

"What have our investigators found out?" asked the leader.

"It's worse than we thought." A fourth said nervously. He had just gotten on the council and wanted to prove himself worthy. "There are not one but two foreign creatures waging war in Amity. The second species is hunting the first, but they attack humans as well. They are powerful, capable of fighting even Danny Phantom on even terms." Gasps echoed the room. If each one of them could match the legendary Phantom, what chance did they have?

"All the more reason we have to intervene before it's too late!" The first one exclaimed. "True, their first attack was beaten, but some are still alive and breeding. They grow to full size in less than 24 hours."

"Where is our current informant?" asked the leader. "He should have been here over an hour ago." As if on cue, Poindexter burst into the room, slowly healing the wound on his chest.

"Those things can infect us!" Poindexter yelled fearfully. "We can't faze through them! It means destruction for us!"

"Calm down, Sydney." The leader instructed. "What more can you tell us about them?"

He didn't speak for almost a minute, trying to heal the massive wound. He managed to seal it by using energy, but while he was still in existence, he was badly weakened and wounded. Even so, he wanted to speak his piece. "Like I said, we can't faze through them. Their blood seems to be some sort of powerful acid. They also seem to take on traits of their host. I saw a green and black creature flying around, dueling with one of the other combatants."

"You see!" yet another cried. "We have to go in there and stop them! Those creatures are already extremely dangerous! If they obtain our powers as well, there will be no stopping them."

"Has anyone managed to reach Clockwork?" the third asked. "He may have an answer to our predicament."

"He's not telling us anything." The leader sighed. "The only answer he would give me was that his plans are in motion. We can't wait that long."

"We have to at least organize an army." The first stated. "True, we can't move rashly, but we need an army to repel them in case they come inside the ghost zone. You might say that's impossible, but a couple have already obtained our powers. Who's to say they can't?"

"Once this meeting is over, we will contact the Ghost Zone military and prepare for action." The leader declared.

"We haven't had a war for centuries!" the third protested. "Many have never fought in a war. We've been weakened badly."

"Perhaps, but what else can we do?" The leader replied. "Now for the next order of business: the return of Vlad Plasmius." This time, there was no disagreement. All of them wanted Vlad destroyed. Even so, they were afraid of him. All were well aware of the power he possessed, ever since he had broken in and released Vortex.

"I'm afraid I can't allow you to do that." Clockwork stated, showing up in the middle of their discussion. "I'm curious: why did you not give him the proper care?" He pointed to Poindexter, who was currently lying on the floor, unconscious.

"Why shouldn't we destroy that monster?" the leader cried angrily. "I don't understand how he even survived in space!"

"Simple: I rescued him." Clockwork smirked, now in his adult form. "He is part of my plan to overcome these creatures. He's not as evil as most consider him. Otherwise, I would have left him to die. Currently, he and Daniel are trying to free Amity from the demons that infest it."

"Is there anything more you could tell us?" the leader asked. Unlike the others, he trusted Clockwork, even though he did not understand his actions.

"Yes, as a matter of fact." Clockwork nodded, turning into his child form. "There are currently two of those Xenomorphs with our powers. Vlad knows they exist, but cannot find them. They are even more dangerous than you realize. Our situation is going to become much worse. I cannot see how it ends, but that at least is certain."

"Then we must prepare for war." One of them stated, sighing. "I hope this don't get inside the ghost realm."

"Don't, not yet at least." Clockwork replied, now an old man. "The U.S. army has moved in, along with several groups of Special Forces. Sending our army would only make things worse. It's why I saved Vlad. An entire army would divide our forces and give the Xenomorphs more of an opportunity to infect us. Only send them in when there is no other option." Clockwork actually did not like waiting, contrary to what most of the Observants believed, but in this situation, there was no other choice.

XXXXXXXXXXX

For the past two days, everything had been quiet. Danny, Sam, and Tucker even went back to school. (They're in sophomore year, just so you know) Many people believed that the threat was over. Danny, on the other hand, knew better. As long as even one of those creatures were still alive, none of them were safe.

"So have you had any luck finding them?" Sam asked, hugging Danny from behind.

"Just one, but the rest of them have to be around somewhere." Danny sighed. "I think Vlad knows more than he's telling me. He might be trying to convert them into weapons. Figures that he hasn't changed a bit."

"We'll have to keep looking." Tucker gulped. "I don't want to get infected by one of them. After what happened to Kwan…"

"Don't remind me of that." Danny suddenly snapped, shuddering.

"Sorry, Danny; I didn't think about that." Tucker stated apologetically. "Has your parents told you anything?"

"I highly doubt it." Sam laughed without humor. "They still treat us like children. Can't they give us a little more credit?"

"They don't know very much either." Danny replied worriedly. "Mom told me that Vlad's taking charge of everything. I don't like it; I don't like it at all. He's always trying to twist a scenario to his advantage."

"Hey, Danny! I need to talk to you!" Paulina exclaimed, walking over to him. Sam groaned, trying to fight the temptation to murder her where she stood.

"What is it, Paulina?" Danny asked as politely as he could. True, he didn't have romantic feelings for her anymore, but he was still a teenage boy and Paulina was attractive.

"I want to talk to you alone." Paulina smiled, grabbing his hand.

"Don't even think about it, whore!" Sam exclaimed. "You just want to break us up because you think you're better than me and can't stand to see me happy, right?"

"Sam, calm down." Danny replied, looking at her sternly. "All right, Paulina, but don't try anything. I like Sam, not you." Paulina smiled and walked to a deserted hallway, Dash keeping any sightseers away. Danny knew the rumors that were circling around would be terrible, but he had dealt with much worse in the past.

"Danny, I need your help." She sighed. "Something's wrong with me and it may be ghost related. Your parents may be weird, but they know their stuff."

"Okay, what's been going on?" Danny asked, instantly turning serious.

"Well, at first I thought it was nothing. I always seem to be hungry, but I ignored that. However, I've been having chest pains and even nosebleeds. The nurse doesn't have any explanation, and since this is Amity, it could have something to do with ghosts."

"I'll get my parents to check you out, perform a few tests. It's probably nothing, but I've learned the value of caution over the past year."

"Thank you, Danny!" she hugged him tightly. Danny gently pushed her away, thinking that Sam was probably watching. She always had a way of finding out.

"I'm sure you know where my house is; it's pretty obvious. I'll see you there after school." Danny left, but heard something behind him. There was something strange, but it sounded familiar. He ran back to his friends and told them.

"This could be those creatures." Tucker declared worriedly, but firm in his resolve to help Danny.

"It could also be a false alarm." Sam added. "Still, we probably should check it out, especially after everything that's happened."

They left their table and looked around, hoping it was a false alarm. Danny was frightened, although he didn't want to admit it. Each of those creatures were as dangerous as any of his enemies, and considering how fast they reproduced, he was in for a great deal of trouble. Making sure nobody was around, he transformed into Phantom and searched the school.

Still, none of them knew where they could hide. The creatures were pretty big, after all, and they felt that if they were here, there would be a lot more screaming. However, he had not seen Principal Ishiyama anywhere that day except when he first arrived.

"Mr. Fenton, why are you not eating lunch with your classmates?" Edward Lancer asked, staring at him sternly. He was quite suspicious of him, since he had a reputation for being a troublemaker, thanks to Dash and his friends. However, that train of thought put tears to his eyes. At least he wasn't in Phantom form.

"I'm looking for Principal Ishiyama." He replied, not having to lie for once. "Have you seen her anywhere?"

"No, I haven't, Mr. Fenton." Lancer replied. "I honestly find it strange that she isn't around. While she isn't always dedicated, she is always around in some way or another. I need to find her myself; we may as well work together."

"Why are you willing to help me?"

"You have a decent heart, Mr. Fenton, even though you are a troublemaker. You're intelligent, but don't use it. Can I tell you a secret?"

"Sure; I won't tell anyone."

"I'd like your help in getting rid of some members of the board. I have to favor the football players, and considering your position, I felt you may want to assist me."

"Yeah, I'll help. I'm tired of getting picked on by them. Still, Dash isn't as bad as usual after what's happened." He forced his tears back. It may have had to be done, but it didn't make it any easier.

"I'll let you know if I see her around, Mr. Fenton. Until then, you may want to get to class." He was suspicious that his friends weren't around, but had no evidence to accuse him of anything. Lancer walked off, still wondering about the disappearance.

None of them were able to concentrate for the rest of the day, as the events weighed heavily on their minds. Reluctantly, Lancer let them go home early. Jazz caught up to the trio, looking worried. "I don't see a few of my classmates that were here this morning." She told them. "I'm probably overreacting, but I don't think this is over just yet."

"Hey, Jasmine." Her boyfriend Derek stated, putting an arm around her shoulders. He was about 5'9, had blue eyes, dark brown hair, and was about 220 pounds, although he didn't look like it. "What have you been up to?"

"Not much; I'm just a little worried." Jazz replied. "Like I told them, I don't think this is over yet."

"Neither do I; we're in Amity Park, after all. Would this be Sam, Tucker, and Danny?" Danny looked at him suspiciously. Sam and Tucker weren't too inclined to be friendly. Derek didn't seem to notice, though. He stuck out his hand, which none of them took.

"So you're her boyfriend?" Danny asked, crossing his arms. "You hurt her in any way, I'll…"

"Surgically remove my dick with a scalpel, and feed it to rabid coyotes, or something along those lines." Derek interrupted. "I have a little sister, so I know how to give death threats."

"So what exactly are your interests?" Tucker asked, figuring he should at least try to be friendly.

"Well, I spend a lot of my time writing and playing video games." Derek replied. "I know I don't have much of a life. I'm hoping to become an author one of these days. It'll take a lot of work, I know, but I'm hoping to get through it. As for video games, I play Vice City, since it can be challenging. I'm considering San Andreas, but I haven't made up my mind yet. Still think what people say about violent video games driving others to commit crimes is a bunch of crap."

"Okay, okay." Jazz cut him off before his monologue could really gain steam. "I'm giving him a lift home since he lives over a mile from here."

"That, and I didn't get a lot of sleep." Derek added. He then started muttering to himself, although no one had any idea what he was saying.

"I'll see you guys later." Jazz told them, waving good-bye. "Now where did we park?"

"Just look for 6XPB955."

"Wait a minute, what the hell did he say?" Danny demanded.

"I know her license plate number." Derek shrugged, not thinking anything of it. "Well, that and her phone number, address, and social security number."

"How do you know all that?" Sam asked, starting to get worried about his sanity.

"With her license plate, she once sped past me and I memorized it." Derek explained. "I suppose I memorized because I liked her, and it stuck in my mind. As for the others…" Jazz drove beside him, telling him to get in. "Thanks; I doubt I can find it. See you guys later."

"Okay, he's just creepy." Danny declared once he was gone. "Why does Jazz like him?"

"I'm not so sure." Tucker refuted. "Yeah, he's kind of weird, but he's not that bad. Just give him a chance." Danny refused to speak to anyone until they got home, where he saw Paulina waiting for him.

"Isn't this your former crush, Daniel?" Vlad pointed, enjoying his obvious embarrassment. "What is she doing here?"

"Come on, Paulina!" Jack exclaimed. "To the lab!" He grabbed her arm, and sped off in that direction, heedless of her cries.

"He'll probably get sued if this keeps up." Vlad muttered, shaking his head. "What's the matter, Daniel? Have another run-in with Dash? Just use your powers to humiliate him."

"It's none of your damn business." Danny glared. "Just leave me alone."

"He met Jazz's new boyfriend and doesn't like him." Tucker declared before Sam could shut him up.

"Hey, he does seem kind of creepy." Sam argued.

"Have fun arguing." Vlad chuckled. "The adults have more important things to do." They followed him, Jazz looking at them disapprovingly.

"He's a great guy, Danny." She defended him. "I know he's different, but don't judge him based on that." They went into, trying to focus on the task at hand. Jack set her on a table, where Paulina winced because of a pulled muscle. Maddie set up the equipment, and activated it.

"This is interesting." Jack declared, unusually serious. "It looks like there's something beneath the chest. Let's magnify this a little." The screen showed something moving, a vague outline of a creature. "Oh, dear god." Maddie looked at the screen, and was equally horrified.

"What do we do now, Jack?" Maddie sighed. She expected that there would be nothing, and was not prepared for this. "Paulina, how long has this been going on?"

"About three days." Paulina replied, now getting very frightened.

"Do you remember anything attaching itself to you, even if it's a dream?" Jack asked urgently. "Please, it's very important."

"Well, I dreamed that something grabbed my face." Paulina was now on the brink of terror. "I thought it was only a dream; it isn't real, is it?"

"So what does this mean?" Danny asked.

"Quite simple, Daniel." Vlad replied, startling him. "She's infected with one of those creatures. Jack, do you mind if I have a look at the screen?" He nodded solemnly, and Vlad approached. "This doesn't look like a normal creature; the head's a different shape than what we saw before. Could that mean…"

"Get to the point, Vlad." Maddie warned. "We need to know what it is."

"Wait, you're that Masters guy who held the Earth hostage." Paulina gasped. "Help! Help! He's going to kill me!"

"It could be a queen." Vlad speculated. "It's taking longer to grow, and these things remind me a great deal of insects. The others didn't last more than a few hours before they died."

"What do we do?" Sam demanded. She didn't like Paulina in the least, but she didn't deserve something like this.

"I admit, for once, I'm at a loss." Jack sighed, looking upset. By this point, Paulina was too terrified to move, and was about to faint. "Sigh, we've got to get to a doctor and remove it. How much time does she have?"

"Let me take another look." Vlad ordered, shoving Jack out of the way. "Daniel, what was the size of the one you saw? Come on, we need to know! Maddie, you better notify the family about our situation."

"About 8 inches or so, okay?" Danny snapped. "I wasn't exactly paying close attention!" Vlad didn't seem to hear him, though, as he was lost in thought.

"Hello, Earth to Vlad." Tucker stated, waving his hand. Vlad completely ignored him, as he did everything else. Finally, he had spoken up.

"She's got a little less than two days before it emerges." Vlad told everyone. Paulina really did faint upon hearing that. "We've got to remove it immediately. It can't be allowed to be born."

"Are you insane?" Sam demanded. "We can't do it ourselves! We have to do it in a clean hospital! We could go to prison for this!"

"And what do you suggest, Samantha?" Vlad yelled back. "I'm not going to wait for an appointment so they can screw it up? We've got no time to waste on bureaucracy! In any case, I'm not about to let the government know about this. They'll just kill her!"

"When did you become a humanitarian, Vlad?" Jazz asked, although less angrily than Sam.

"When I was trapped in the middle of space, awaiting certain death!" Vlad exclaimed. "Jack, how long will it take you to decontaminate this place?"

"Her parents are furious with us, and are coming here in about half an hour." Maddie informed them. "What exactly are you doing, Vlad?"

"We're going to remove the creature before it bursts from her chest." He explained. "How long, Jack?"

"About an hour or so," Jack replied. "Fortunately, I've got some equipment just in case something like this happened."

"You're not having any part of it, Vlad." Danny warned. "You'll just try to use the queen as a weapon. I know you." Danny stomped off, Vlad following. He hoped to talk some sense into the boy, but there were no guarantees. Maddie warned him not to do anything, to which he rolled his eyes.

"So do you really think leaving them alone is a good idea?" Tucker said in a concerned voice.

"They need to learn how to get along." Jazz replied. "Vlad's changed a lot, but it doesn't mean he's a good guy. They have some sort of mutual respect, or he would have killed Danny long ago."

XXXXXXX

"Daniel, don't you understand?" Vlad sighed. "I'm trying not to be the man I was. Just give me a chance to prove myself. It's hard enough being forced to remember all the mistakes I made."

"I don't think I'm ever going to trust you, Vlad." Danny glared. "You've done too much to me and my family."

"I have to admit, I envy you." Vlad confessed. "You're lucky enough to have what I've never known."

"What do you mean?"

"I wasn't always a monster, Daniel. As a child, I was much like you. In Kindergarten, I became friends with Maddie after she saved me from a bully. It likely sounds cliché, but that's how it went. She even taught me a few martial arts tricks. Being around her was the only time I was happy."

"Why?"

"My mother died because of a drunk driver when I was only a year old, and my dad was not the… most kind person in the world. He wasn't all bad, though; he just didn't know how to be a father. The odd thing is that I don't blame him now, although I did many years ago.

"Like you, Daniel, I was an outcast in school. I was smarter than most of them, which made me a target. Maddie always stuck by me, and when I was in middle school, we met Jack. I'm still amazed how we were able to bond so closely. I never thought anything would come between our friendship.

"Foolish, I know, but I was young, Daniel. When we were in high school, me and Jack were well known as troublemakers, but at least we weren't picked on much. Personally, my favorite pastime was prank-calling the owner of a club. Still can't believe he fell for the I.P. Freely gag. (Get the reference?)" Vlad chuckled to himself. Danny was shocked to say the least. His enemy actually had a sense of humor?

"My childhood was not a happy one, but I at least had them. My senior year, I began falling for Maddie, although I couldn't admit it even to myself. Whenever Jack or Maddie were dating someone, I always felt lonely. Back then, all I wanted was their happiness. For a while, it seemed our friendship would break, but something brought it back together. That's a story for another day.

"There's a reason I changed after the accident. I felt Jack and Maddie had betrayed me. I never heard from them much while I was in the hospital. It was only after I was released that I learned they married. The longer I stayed alone, the angrier I became, and you see the result. There's a lot more to the story, obviously, but I don't wish to bore you."

"I'm not going to promise anything, but let's at least try to get along. Never thought I'd actually feel sympathy for you."

"I never thought I'd help you out of my own free will, but the unexpected always happens. By the way, I would appreciate it if you wouldn't blab this to your friends. I'd rather not have this become common knowledge."

Before Danny could reply, there was a large explosion in the distance. It looked sort of like a mushroom cloud. "Why would a nuclear weapon be detonated here?" Danny asked. "It doesn't make any sense." Vlad and Danny transformed into their ghost selves and went to investigate just as Paulina's parents appeared.

Everything within a couple hundred yards was destroyed. By all accounts, it appeared as if the explosion originated underground. Pipes were torn to pieces, and some of them were even eroded away. Danny spotted a piece of the Xenomorph's tail. "I think this may have been their nest." Danny sighed.

"I was right after all." Vlad replied. "The Yautja probably went in here to eliminate them, although I thought it was against the rules to kill innocents. We'll deal with that later. Let's make sure none of those things survived." They saw about a dozen cocooned people, as well as many pieces of Xenomorphs. Unfortunately, the water mains were badly damaged by their acid. "Look out, Daniel!" He fired an ecto-blast at one of the ecto-Xenomorphs. It flew up to avoid it, and rushed towards Vlad.

He put up a shield, repelling the assault. Not wanting to waste time, Vlad conjured two duplicate and surrounded the Xenomorph. Unfortunately, it had apparently learned to conjure shields of its own and blocked all of his blasts. It swung the tail, destroying one of the duplicates. The other grabbed the tail and delivered a painful shock. It groaned, but was not in severe pain.

Danny used his ice powers to try and trap it, but it easily broke free and fired a stream of energy from its tail. Danny was unprepared and hit in the chest. Giving him a chance to recover, Vlad started firing more powerful ecto-blasts, hoping to stop the Xenomorph. "I never thought it would be this strong." Deciding to try a different tactic, he used ectoplasmic lightning. This time, it had a decent effect.

The Xenomorph fired a combination of acid and ectoplasm out of its mouth. Danny tried to sneak up on it, only to be ravaged by its claws. Furious, Danny fires a powerful stream of energy. There are some minor injuries, but the Xenomorph was far from defeated. "I thought the other ones were tough." Danny panted, dodging more shots from the Xenomorphs.

"I suggest you not use your wail, Daniel." Vlad warned, duplicating into 4. "I have no doubt the soldiers will be showing up soon, if they haven't already." All 4 Vlads fired lightning, burning the Xenomorph terribly. Furious, it launched huge amounts of energy at its opponents.

"How did it get so powerful?"

"Simple, Daniel. It gained the ability to absorb ectoplasm from its host, and considering the amount likely in Amity Park, it's not much of a surprise. It's not as powerful as us, though, so we can wear it down." He fired more blasts, attempting to confuse the creature. Problem was: because of the ectoplasm, its shell was much harder than normal. An ordinary Xenomorph, even a queen, would have been killed long ago, but this one was still alive.

Danny and Vlad continued the battle, now fighting more defensively. Vlad and his duplicates took opportunistic shots while Danny used his ice powers to slow him down. However, since he could not use lightning as Vlad could, his attacks had limited effect.

"Slow him down, Daniel!" Vlad demanded, one of his duplicates punching it across the jaw. The Xenomorph opened its mouth, and both quickly got out of the way, knowing what it was going to do. Danny kept it distracted, while Vlad conjured an ecto-sword and his duplicates charged up a powerful blast.

They eventually fired, knocking the Xenomorph out of the sky. Vlad stabbed it through the throat, hiding behind a powerful shield to protect himself from the acid. It tried to continue the fight, but eventually fell, unable to withstand the loss of blood.

A few surviving Xenomorphs showed up, charging towards them. Even so, luck seemed to be on their side for once as they immediately saw their enemies suffer heavy fire. A minigun mounted on a helicopter quickly tore them to pieces. Vlad disappeared, not wanting to deal with the army.

"Phantom, any idea what the hell's going on?" asked the commander.

"I don't know." Danny admitted. "I think our other visitors set the explosive to destroy the hive. We need to make sure none of them are still alive."

They searched the area, not knowing the eggs had already been placed. The Xenomorphs had removed them once they saw the hive was in grave danger. Now they were infecting humans by the hundreds, as the queen had ample time to lay them. Unsuspecting people in isolated areas were infected by Facehuggers, not knowing they would soon give birth to a terrible creature. The surviving Xenomorphs, numbering no more than 5 at this point, were currently looking for a new nest. Another one of them would have to go through the "hormone storm" in order to become the new queen.

To make matters even worse, only 4 of the Predators were still alive. The others were killed either by the Xenomorphs or the self-destruct device. Even the ones that were guarding the ship had been killed, although the Xenomorphs were not responsible. Umbra knew he had to warn the others before the entire city was overrun. He knew a new queen was inevitable, and even some of the warrior class could lay eggs.

The console on his wrist beeped, indicating the ship was leaving. The self-destruct device was disabled, but the tracking device was not. Others would have to recapture their ship. He had to stop the infestation before it was too late.

Most people thought it was over. In reality, it was about to begin.

There are only 3, maybe 4 more chapters before this story is over. Obviously, more Predators will be coming to contain the outbreak, even though it'll be very difficult to conceal their existence.

**Bart:** Hello, is Homer there?**Moe:** Homer who?**Bart:** Homer...Sexual.**Moe:** Wait one second, let me check. (Calls) Uh, Homer Sexual? Hey, come on, one of you guys has got to be "Homosexual"! (laughs)**Homer:** Don't look at me! (laughs)**Moe:** Oh no... You rotten little punk! If I ever get a hold of you, I'll sink my teeth into your cheek and rip your face off!**Skinner:** You'll do what, young man?**Moe:** What, what, wait, who is this?**Skinner:** I think the real question is who is this, and where is Homer Simpson!?**Moe:** Whoa, whoa, sorry, Principal Skinner, sorry. It's a bad connection I think. Homer, it's for you, I think Bart's in trouble again.**Homer:** D'oh!


	6. Dark Hours

Okay, this is the true reason the story is rated M. I did that with chapter 3 to be on the safe side, since I don't want this story taken down. If that didn't push it that high, this chapter definitely will. Obviously, there are now hundreds of Xenomorphs with little standing in their way. I based this somewhat on AvP: requiem, but wanted to change some things. In any case, I better get on with the story. Warning: there is some character death in this chapter. It seems to be almost standard with what I write now.

**Moe:** Moe's Tavern, where the elite meet to drink.**Bart:** Uh, yeah, hello. Is Mike there? Last name Rotch.**Moe:** Hold on, I'll check. [calls Mike Rotch! Mike Rotch! Hey, has anybody seen "My crotch" lately? (everyone laughs) Listen, you little puke. One of these days, I'm going to catch you, and I'm going to carve my name on your back with an ice pick! (Bart and Lisa laugh)

X X X X X X X

"We can barely imagine what this thing can do for us!" Dutch laughed, currently learning how to pilot the Yautja ship. "Now maybe we can figure out that interstellar drive on the other one. Just wait until they see us again."

"It came at the cost of several of our men." Anna reminded him, to which he bowed his head in respect. "Aren't they going to try and retrieve the ship?"

"Their cause will not be forgotten." Dutch promised. "And I'm already well aware of that. I disabled the self-destruct device, and Area 51 is well-guarded."

"General, we found something you may find interesting." One of them declared. Dutch got up, as Anna took over the piloting. It was a picture of the creatures that attacked Amity. They had killed many of them with no loss of life. However, they were strong, even more so than the Predators. Thankfully, they were not as intelligent. "Best I can figure, this is the information they have on them."

Dutch looked through it. He didn't understand the language, but there were various pictures. They were those smaller creatures with the coiled tail, but some of the pictures made him want to puke. A few of them were showing the process of their birth. "Well, it looks like this could be even worse than I thought." Dutch muttered to himself. He scanned through it, and saw one of a nest that had hundreds of eggs. "I wish I could understand the language. You have any idea what this is?"

"Only a very small idea; they impregnate people, or anything for that matter, and soon afterwards, the creature is born. I think they call them Kainde Amedha. They grow very quickly; remind me a lot of insects, to tell you the truth. One queen can lay thousands of eggs, including ones for new queens. In conclusion, if they aren't stopped now, they will destroy the human race. I wonder if that's why they are here: to destroy the… Kainde Amedha. I likely pronounced it wrong, but that doesn't really matter."

"Then we have to go back and destroy them. The self-destruct device we witnessed was probably to destroy the nest. Even if the queen is dead, there could be hundreds of eggs. I know this is all speculation, but we can't take the chance. Our job is to protect people from alien menaces."

"General, we found the weapons room." Said the woman, the only one there other than Anna. "You might want to take a look at it." Dutch followed, and once he saw it, there was a huge grin on his face. There were shoulder cannon, swords, spears, disks, masks, and other devices he had no clue about. This made their first find 40 years ago look like nothing.

"Excellent work, Ables." Dutch complimented. "We'll put some of these in the lab for analysis, and as for the others, we can use them ourselves. I can't wait to show those damn Predators what we can do."

XXXXXXX

For the past 12 hours, Jack and Maddie had been arguing with Paulina's parents. Paulina was screaming as well, though she was drowned out. Her parents refused to let them do the surgery, and wanted to take her to the hospital. Jack's argument was that they had no time to do so, and they would likely kill her to ensure that the Xenomorphs do not spread.

Finally, Vlad had enough and approached Mr. and Mrs. Martinez. He transformed into Plasmius, watching them back several steps. "I never mentioned you have a choice." Vlad laughed, floating about a foot off the ground. "Now you can either let us get the creature out of her now, or in 24 hours you can watch her suffer a horribly painful death when it punches through her. What is it going to be?"

For several seconds, neither one said anything. Finally, Mr. Martinez spoke up. "Fine, we'll let you if you have the proper equipment." He stuttered, keeping a wary eye on Vlad. "Mess up, and I'll kill you."

"Yes, that goes without saying." Vlad waved off the warning. "If you'll excuse me, I have some important business to attend to." He flew through the ceiling, giving the Latino couple an evil grin.

"We better get everything ready." Maddie sighed, wishing they didn't have to do this. "Jack, get the gas. We don't have a lot of time."

"What does this mean?" Paulina asked, wiping a small amount of blood from her nose.

"I don't know, really." Jack shrugged his shoulders. "Perhaps it's another symptom of this. Come on, we have to get started."

XXXXXXX

"I hope they're able to remove it." Danny worried, along with Tucker, Jazz, and Sam. "I may not like Paulina, but she doesn't deserve something like this."

"I can't believe I actually agree with you." Sam stated, shuddering. She laid her head on Danny's shoulder.

"It's probably going to take hours." Jazz reasoned. "Maybe it sounds crazy, but I'm not sure it's over yet." There was a knock on the door. Tucker opened it, and saw Valerie in tears.

"Where's Danny?" she sobbed. "I need to see him right now."

The others walked down, shocked at the display. "What's wrong, Valerie?" Danny asked with concern. Sure, they went through a rough patch for a while after she discovered his secret, but they managed to keep their friendship alive. "What happened to you?"

"It's my dad… he… he was taken by those things." She exclaimed, wiping her eyes. "If it wasn't for my jet sled, it would have taken me too."

"I don't think there's much we can do." Tucker sighed. "We don't know where they took him." Danny elbowed him to shut him up.

"Come to think of it, there have been some disappearances." Sam reasoned. "We'll come with you."

"No, you aren't." Danny ordered. "You're staying right here. I don't want either of you killed or worse, infected by those things. I let you help last time because it was necessary, but I have to do this on my own. Come on, Valerie." He was more afraid than he had been since the battle with his potential future, try as he might to deny it, but he was not about to hide. He transformed and picked Valerie up. Sam was about to yell, but Tucker held her back.

Unfortunately, neither had any idea where to look. Her apartment was completely torn apart, but the soldiers had beaten them to it. Unlike the other ones Danny met, they were far from helpful and would not speak to him. Sighing angrily, he flew away and decided to continue the search underground.

"You think this is where he is?" Valerie asked yet again.

"I'm not sure, but this was where the last nest was." Danny replied. He hesitated, but decided to go along with it. "Valerie, if he's infected, I might have to… take him out before the creature is born." He winced, knowing what her reaction would be.

He was correct. "Are you Fuckin' crazy? I thought you were a hero, Danny! Why would you kill my dad?"

"I don't want to, but I can't remove the creatures. Their acidic blood affects me even when I'm intangible. I'm praying that it won't come to that, but if it does…"

"I know. You'll have to restrain me if that becomes necessary. I'll probably hate you for a while, since it'll take time."

"That's fine, Valerie. I'm used to being hated." Immediately, she felt guilty, since she hated his ghost half for a long time. She would just have to remember it was necessary. Danny spotted one of the Yaujta, hoping he wasn't about to hunt humans. He flew above Casper High, not knowing another nest was forming.

XXXXXX

Less than an hour ago, several chestbursters had been born from the unfortunate people the Xenomorph warrior captured. It carried the eggs there, along with laying a couple of its own. True, it could not lay thousands, as a queen could, but they could infrequently lay them. (This is something I made up) The newborn Xenomorphs surrounded it, bowing their heads.

After a few minutes, they found a huge meat supply and began gorging themselves. Their jaws, although still forming, were easily able to rip through the cardboard to get to the meat. As a result, they started growing within a few minutes. They hissed, keeping in contact with one another as they explored the school. Meanwhile, the warrior hoped the hosts could come back so more children could be born.

In its own mind, it was hoping to become queen. They were without one as the other had been destroyed. While the empress-class facehuggers were looking for suitable hosts, they were going to have to wait.

XXXXXX

"I think we almost got it." Maddie told her husband, as they saw the outline of the creature. It had grown in the few hours of the surgery, and faster than they anticipated. They didn't have a lot of time, as it was moving. Jack moved the last few parts of skin and saw the whole Xenomorph. Both of them were shocked at the appearance, but even more so that it was alive.

Jack took the scalpel, ready to kill it once it was certain that Paulina would not be harmed by its acidic blood. However, the Queen chestburster bit Jack's hand, followed by his blood dripping everywhere. The Queen fled before Maddie had a chance to do anything.

"Let's just stitch her up before she loses too much blood." Jack sighed, determined to push through the pain. "That fucker has probably been feeding on her blood." Maddie decided to ignore the swearing for the moment as they slowly stitched her up. It was likely that she would need blood, which she was more than willing to give.

After another couple of hours, they managed to seal the wound but decided to keep her unconscious. Maddie watched her, looking after her as a mother does. Both bitterly regretted letting the Queen go, but they had to save her life.

"I see you managed to seal her up." Vlad declared, smirking. "I would have helped, but I needed to keep the parents cooperative. They're not harmed, but I had to restrain the father. I admit, he's strong enough to rival you, Jack."

"We have to find that queen; she escaped." Jack warned. "Paulina's alive, but that thing is roaming the city, looking for a place to begin her nest. Keep an eye out."

"No problem." Vlad nodded. "Daniel's with Valerie, just so you know. Apparently her father was taken by these things and she wants to find them. It's crazy, but there is no arguing with them."

Maddie backhanded him, sending him to the ground. "How could you let them go out there while those things are still around?" she exclaimed angrily, ready to hit him again.

"Maddie, calm down," Jack tried to defuse the situation. "He's right; Danny is stubborn and would have gone anyway. I'm sure he can take care of himself."

"He's quite right, you know." Vlad added. "You know, Jack, I can't believe I'm saying this, but… I missed you." He walked off, not waiting for a response. Jack stood in shock, almost falling over.

X X X X X X

"Okay, this place is definitely creepy." Valerie commented when they looked around the abandoned building. They saw several people trapped to the wall. Danny checked and they were all dead. His hand started glowing and saw several broken eggs and dead facehuggers. Both gulped; they knew what this could mean.

"Hey, I found a live one!" Danny declared. He ripped off the material surrounding him and saw that it was no other than Damon Grey. "Don't worry; I'll get you out of this."

"It's too late, Danny." Damon replied."I've been infected. You've got to kill me before it's too late."

"No!" Valerie screamed. "We'll get you out of here, and Danny can remove it, right?"

"Actually, I don't think I can." Danny sighed. "Still, if you want me to try and turn his body intangible, I will." Valerie nodded eagerly, though he didn't show her enthusiasm. He turned his body intangible, hoping the creature would fall through, but it didn't happen that way. The Xenomorph was intangible as well, which meant a bit of its acidic blood was dripping out. Even so, it was enough to cause great harm to him. Danny released his grip in shock.

At this point, they couldn't do anything except watch. Damon quickly died from the acid, making them thankful they couldn't see it. Crying, Danny destroyed the body so the creature could not be born. He winced, expecting Valerie to attack him.

"This is all my fault." She sobbed. "I never should have left him."

"No, it isn't." Danny reassured. "He was trying to protect you as any good father would." He heard a small amount of hissing and immediately put a shield over them. He decided to leave before they attracted too much attention. The original nest had been destroyed, but the survivors were apparently building a new one.

He flew out of the building with Valerie in tow. Danny knew he had to warn the military about their presence. He dropped Valerie off at Fenton works and sped towards them, hoping they still had time.

However, the Xenomorphs were ready to come out of hiding. They were generally nocturnal creatures, and since it was night, it was the optimal time to strike. They searched for suitable hosts and came across a lone soldier. It slowly crept up to him, hoping to take him by surprise. He screamed a warning and started firing, spraying acid everywhere. Some of it got on his leg, immediately impeding his ability to run.

Several others had heard the commotion and investigated. They shined the lights and upon spotting the Xenomorphs, opened fire. They managed to kill it, but screeches of rage were heard everywhere. The group quickly found themselves surrounded as they fired in all directions. The Xenomorph took two of them to be hosts and slaughtered the rest.

The others were rapidly becoming aware of what was going on. They turned on the lights and night vision goggles, looking for the Xenomorphs. Unfortunately, they were unaware that Xenomorphs were invisible by thermal vision. An entire platoon was slaughtered before they became aware of this fact.

Wising up, the soldiers grouped together and pointed their lights in all directions. The helicopters flew overhead, ready to rain hell of whatever enemy they saw. One solider fired his machine gun and ultimately managed to kill the Xenomorph. Still, as they looked around, the others were rapidly closing in on them.

They nodded grimly to one another, determined to fight to the end. The helicopters provided cover while they took out several Xenomorphs. The others climbed walls and waited for the time to ambush the soldiers. The searchlights weren't much help when their enemies were moving so quickly.

There was screaming in the distance. Apparently the Xenomorphs had spotted a couple civilians and grabbed them, likely to take them to the nest. One of the soldiers opened fire, killing the two. He felt terrible about it, but figured it was better than having one of those beasts punch through their chests.

All around them, the soldiers were slowly being driven back. Even the helicopters weren't enough to stop the swarm, as there were many more than originally thought. Finally, one of the Xenomorphs jumped off a ceiling into one of the helicopters, swiftly killing the occupants.

They defended the few spotlight, knowing it was their only chance at seeing them. More people were kidnapped, but they were not able to reach them. "Get the bazookas out!" The captain ordered. It was a definite possibility that their own men could get killed by mistake, but they had no other options. His men scrambled to do so, particularly when another one of the helicopters went down.

As the battle raged on, yet more Xenomorphs arrived, killing and kidnapping whoever they could get their claws on. Fortunately, Vlad showed up, immediately going into action. Furiously, he blasted Xenomorph after Xenomorph. He had obviously gotten their attention as they surrounded him.

Vlad put up a shield, though he knew it wouldn't protect him. Even so, it gave him time to dodge their attacks. He used ecto-lightning, and managed to destroy one of them However, he had forgotten about the soldiers who were firing at him as well as the Xenomorphs.

He turned intangible and flew through the buildings, knowing he couldn't fight both groups. Vlad landed in an alley, listening for Xenomorphs. Thankfully, his ghost powers allowed him to see in the dark. There was a faint hissing behind him. Vlad turned around and fired several energy blasts at the Xenomorph. Unfortunately for him, it was a warrior and could not be defeated easily.

Vlad flew into the wall to avoid its tail. The brick wall crumbled like thin plastic as the Xenomorph looked for its prey. Vlad used the distraction to impale it with an ecto-sword. Thankfully, it was able to resist the acidic blood. "This makes me glad I learned this technique." Vlad stated to himself. He searched the area, looking for more Xenomorphs.

He eventually arrived back at the battlefield. Vlad saw that over half of the soldiers were dead or badly wounded. Many Xenomorphs had fallen, but there were simply too many. Civilians were fleeing right and left with the surviving soldiers doing whatever they could to protect them.

Danny flew into the action, barreling into a Xenomorph. Vlad fired lightning at another one that tried to attack Danny from behind. They fought side by side, making sure none of them ambushed the other. It was giving the soldiers a needed break, but it was clear that this was a battle they could not win.

"I suggest you think of something." Danny quipped, blood covering an arm wound. "I think both of us are losing energy quickly." He dodged a Xenomorph's claws and duplicated into 3. All of them attacked, with the original fighting beside Vlad and the duplicates providing the civilians with some cover.

"I'm thinking, Daniel." Vlad replied, losing energy himself. True, ecto-lightning was more precise and effective, but it drained him far more quickly. "We have to make sure we get everyone out. All right, try using your ice powers. It won't kill them, but it can slow them down."

The soldiers were retreating one group at a time. The Xenomorphs were getting more vicious by the minute as their fellows fell and instead of capturing people, it was simply a slaughter. Horrified, Danny used the ghostly wail, sending several Aliens into a building. It quickly collapsed after the sonic attack, and combined with the weight, killed every Xenomorph.

Unfortunately, he had completely drained himself of energy and more were surrounding him. Vlad put a shield around Danny and himself, trying desperately to save the boy. He never thought he would do this, but circumstances had changed greatly. Vlad conjured an ecto-sword and impaled one of the creatures before fleeing the area with Danny in tow.

"We've got to go back!" Danny protested. "There are still people in danger."

"Daniel, you have completely drained yourself, and I'm not far behind." Vlad explained. "There's nothing more we can do for them. The only thing we would accomplish is to end up among the casualties." They flew back to Fenton Works, neither of them daring to look back.

"What happened to you guys?" Jack asked, horrified at their appearance. Danny was covered in blood from his injuries, and Vlad wasn't much better off. True, they could heal much faster than normal people, but considering how much of their energy they used, it wouldn't be by much.

"Well, I think it's quite obvious." Vlad replied sarcastically. "Jack, this threat is only getting worse. They reproduce too fast for us to keep a lid on them. For every one we kill, two more take its place. We may have to resort to extreme measures."

"What are you talking about?" Maddie asked.

"Is Paulina all right?" Danny asked weakly. All three present rolled their eyes, but loving him for it anyway.

"She's weak, but she should be able to pull through." Maddie replied. "We've got to check you out, Danny. You've been hurt very badly."

"What did you do to him?" Sam screamed at Vlad, running quickly down the stairs. She pulled Danny away, but apologized once she heard his screams. "You're going to regret this, Fucker!" She threw a punch towards his stomach, but Vlad caught it in time.

"I saved your boyfriend's life." Vlad snapped in reply. "Try to show a little more gratitude."

"He's right." Danny moaned. "If he hadn't helped me, I would be dead or infected. I can't believe I'm saying this, but thank you."

Jazz, Tucker, and Sam surrounded Danny, tending to his injuries. "You'd better come with us." Jack told Vlad. "We need to see to your injuries."

"I'll be fine, Jack." He informed him, although Vlad certainly didn't feel fine. "Besides, it's not like you give a damn." Vlad had honestly felt more alone than he had for a long time. He walked away, not wanting to look at anyone.

"So is our daughter okay?" asked Mr. Martinez, to which Jack nodded. As if on que, Paulina showed up and sat down on the couch, panting.

"Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Fenton." Paulina stated, which was something that would give Sam a heart attack had she seen it. "You saved my life. I'll never call your son weird again."

"We're doing our jobs, sweetie." Maddie replied. "There's no need to thank us, but you're welcome."

However, they were not out of danger just yet. A Xenomorph had gotten inside the house and impaled Maddie through the stomach. She screamed in pure agony as blood gushed everywhere. The Xenomorph shook her for several seconds before throwing her into the wall.

Furious, Jack took out the ghost gauntlets. He was angry, even more so than when he left Vlad in space. He delivered several punches to the Xenomorph's face, only to have his chest cut open by its claws. He forced himself to his feet and raised his fists. If he was going to die, he would die fighting.

However, the Xenomorph did not get the chance as it was impaled by Umbra. "Looks like I got here in time." He sighed. "The Kainde Amedha followed you here. They know Danny and Vlad are responsible many deaths of their fellows." (Hey, he can't speak perfect English, okay? I just want to make it clear that although he lived on Earth for many years, he is still Yaujta.) "Get out of here; more are coming."

Jack stared at his wife, surrounded in a pool of blood. Vlad and the others ran out to see what happened. "NOOOOOOOO!" Vlad screamed in fury and shock. "Okay, that's it! I am going to kill every motherfucking one of them!" (Hey, he's in grief!)

"Mom!" Jazz sobbed, kneeling next to her. Valerie, Sam, Tucker, and Danny were equally horrified. Danny fell to the floor, crying in a fetal position. Most of the pain was gone as his mind was focused on his recent loss.

"We've got to leave or all of us are going to die!" Umbra exclaimed. He understood their sadness, but they didn't have time for this. "I'll take you to where my clan are in hiding."

"All right, go!" Vlad declared. "Umbra, you're responsible for protecting them. I'm staying here and taking out as many of these bastards as I can with me."

"Vlad, you've got to come with us!" Danny protested. He ated to admit it, but he was actually starting to like Vlad. He wasn't as evil as Danny originally believed. "You'll die if you stay!"

"There's no time to argue!" Valerie told them. "If he wants to stay and die, let him!"

"Vlad, please, I'm asking you as a friend!" Jack pleaded with him, grabbing onto Umbra for support. "Don't throw your life away!" Another Xenomorph burst in, which Vlad grabbed by the tail and threw around repeatedly until he finished it with an ecto-sword.

"That's why I'm staying, Jack!" Vlad pointed out. "You have a family, people who love you. I have no one. Beyond that, besides Umbra, I'm the only one that can fight them. Now go!" They left (eagerly, except for Jack and Danny) Vlad duplicating into 4, each of them conjuring swords. Over a dozen Xenomorphs broke him, and in his weakened condition, Vlad knew he would not survive.

"Come on, fuckers, let's dance!" He exclaimed; Vlad decided if he was going to die, he would take as many as he could with him. Besides, Maddie was alive. Barely, but alive. One duplicate tended to her while the others continued with the fight.

The last thing Fenton and Co. heard were Vlad's screams.

XXXXXXXX

The Xenomorphs had returned in force. Thousands of people died that night and to make matters worse, the Aliens destroyed power lines and communication sites, leaving them defenseless. Several dozen humans were taken for the remaining Facehuggers to infect. The group would soon have a new queen, as they took in the one that was inside Paulina.

However, Amity Park was not the only city in danger. In New York City, one of the queen embryos emerged and looked for a place to find food and grow. The other host had died a couple of days ago, with the queen over 4 feet high. Within 10 days, she would be capable of laying eggs. (From what I read, Queen Xenomorphs take longer to grow)

The warrior residing in Casper high now had about a dozen drones loyal to it. The transformation to queen was not possible for this warrior, but it could still lay eggs. Several isolated areas had been transformed into extensions of the main nest.

However, the surviving soldiers did not intend to give up. They now knew a great deal about their enemy and were currently planning a counter-attack. It would take a couple of week for reinforcements to arrive, but they still had plenty of weapons and intended to use them.

A group of ghosts had also arrived in Amity, among them Danny's enemies. Skulker came for the hunt, Technus intended to steal Predator technology, Walker wanted to use them as weapons, and Fright Knight wished to find Vlad. As for the others (numbering about 50) they wanted to destroy them. Many ghosts now considered Amity part of their territory and intended to take it back.

Well, you know where that leaves us. Anyway, here's the next prank call.

Moe: Moe's tavern… hold on, I'll check. Hey, everybody! I'm a stupid moron with an ugly face and a big butt and my butt smells and… like to kiss my own butt. (Everyone laughs)

Barney: That's a new one!

Moe: Wait a minute. (Bart laughs, and in fear, Mrs. K. laughed as well)


	7. Not over yet

Well, just a couple more chapters. To be honest, this story is longer than I thought it would be. I honestly didn't think it would be more than 8 chapters, but now it'll be more like ten. For all I know, it could be even longer, depending on the kinds of ideas I develop. At least I'll probably get all the prank calls up.

Enjoy the story! (And the prank calls)

Moe: Telephone; Flaming Moe's.

Bart: Yes, I'm looking for a friend of mine; last name Jazz, first name Hugh.

Moe: Hold on, I'll check. Uh, Hugh Jazz! Somebody check the men's room for a huge ass!

Hugh: I'm Hugh Jazz.

Moe: Telephone

Hugh: Hello, this is Hugh Jazz.

Bart: Uh, hi.

Hugh: Who's this?

Bart: Bart Simpson

Hugh: Well, what can I do for you, Bart?

Bart: Look, I'll level with you, mister. This is a prank call that sort of backfired and I'd like to bail out right now.

Hugh: All right, better luck next time. (Hangs phone) What a nice young man.

By the way, I want 4 reviews before I update again.

Jack, Danny, and the others looked around the Yajuta hideout. It was nothing like their ship (although they aren't aware of that) but they made do with it. There were weapons hanging on the walls, various knives, spears, cannons, and other things none of them could even begin to describe.

"A warning: Keep your mouths shut." Umbra told them. "My kind has a low opinion of humans, and they will kill you if you insult them." They walked towards the few remaining members of the group. "Elder Jonlr'de, I have brought the warrior known as Phantom."

"This is the ooman warrior?" He asked in their native language. "He is only a youngling! This can't be him!"

"I assure you, elder, he is." Umbra declared, hoping they would allow them to stay. "It is a sort of mutated human that I do not understand."

"I'm not so sure we should let them here." Trey're worried. "They may decide to reveal our position to their government. However, he does look like the Phantom warrior."

"He is, although he and his allies are exhausted, as they were attacked by the Hard Meat." Umbra informed. "One of their females has fallen, who I believe is Phantom's mother."

"I see." Jonlr'de replied, bowing his head in respect. "However, I believe this is a bad idea. I will let them go unharmed, provided they do not reveal us, but they cannot stay."

"Wait, where is the other one?" Trey're asked. "I do not know the name, but he has the same powers. He killed our target and has been attempting to contain the Kainde Amedha."

"He is likely dead." Umbra replied. "He provided the rest of us with time to escape."

"Why did you run?'" Jonlr'de demanded. "You should have stood your ground and died with honor!"

"What honor is there in fighting a useless battle?" Umbra shouted back. "The Kainde Amedha would have simply overwhelmed me and gone to their next victims! How can I stop them if the Black Warrior takes me?! My self-destruct device would have attracted attention and worse, killed hundreds of innocent people!"

"He's right." Trey're conceded, "Our existence isn't far from being exposed and we do not need to have the ooman military trying to capture us."

"All right, I will let them stay." Jonlr'de decided. "However, if something goes wrong, it will be on your head." Umbra bowed slightly and turned to the others.

"He'll let you stay, but don't cause any trouble." Umbra told them. "He is fa from happy about it."

"Fine; all I care about now is killing these bastards." Danny growled. "I should be back to full strength in a few days, and then it's back to tearing them apart."

"I'm with you." Jack added. "I wonder if we can get some of the soldier's weapons, since small arms fire obviously does not work."

"Perhaps we can use theirs." Sam suggested. "I'm not usually up for this, but these things are too dangerous to be kept alive."

"Most likely, no." Umbra sighed. "The elder's temper is already short, and if you take our weapons, he will likely kill you. Now where is Cella? I haven't seen her all day." At their questioning stares, he added: "A female Yautja that came with us, the only one still alive. I hope she isn't in trouble again." As if on cue, she crashed through the roof, struggling.

"Ha-Ha! Even an extraterrestrial is no match for Technus, master of science!" Technus laughed, having the body of a 12-foot robot. "If it isn't the ghost child! I've been looking for you."

"Leave now," Umbra demanded, taking out his spear. However, he knew perfectly well that the Kainde Amedha could have easily followed him there. They hated most species, but Yaujta most of all.

"You dare to command Technus!" He exclaimed, launching a burst of electricity at Umbra that he did not manage to avoid. Ordinarily, he was resistant to electric shock, but that was a sort of energy he had never seen before. Technus turned to the weapon. "Such beautiful technology! Once I defeat all of you, I, Technus, will use this to further my plans! Sigh, I did it again, right?"

"Yes, you did." Danny replied, transforming into Phantom. He was weak, but couldn't stand by and do nothing. He fired several ecto-blasts, nailing Technus in the torso. Cella threw her disk, and he barely managed to go intangible in time. Umbra landed to Danny's left, aiming his plasma cannon.

"Suckers!" Technus laughed, quickly flying over and taking several of their weapons. He quickly figured out how to use the plasma cannon and nailed Danny twice. Umbra was forced to roll to the left, as a direct blow would kill him. He flew off before they could recover.

"Great, we're probably going to get blamed for this." Tucker complained.

"Hey, who are you?" Technus asked in the distance. "Ow! OW! I, Technus, will make you… Ow! That hurts! Dear god, the pain! I'm going, I'm going!"

"I see he flew into the elder." Umbra quipped. Cella turned her weapons of Danny and the others, but Umbra grabbed her shoulder. "Elder is letting them stay here, as they have battled the Kainde Amedha and emerged victorious."

"I wish to fight the warrior." Cella replied in her native tongue. "He should be a great challenge, more than the Hard Meat."

"We are not to kill younglings." Umbra insisted. "Remember the Yaujta code; he does not appear to be one, but he is." Cella eventually relented.

"Very well, but I intend to hunt him once he becomes mature. Based on the appearance, it should not be long."

"You'll likely end up regretting it. He will grow far stronger by the time he reaches maturity. C'juk! (Yaujta cursing)" The reason for it was obvious when they saw all the remaining weapons had been taken. Apparently their visitor was not acting alone.

"We're screwed." Jazz sighed. "Considering how much your leader hates us, he probably won't listen to any arguments."

"I'll protect you, Jazzy." Jack promised, raising his fists. True, he was not as strong as the aliens but he'd be damned if one of them would harm his children. Even Paulina would be protected, annoying as she was.

XXXXXX

"This ought to give us an edge." Skulker laughed. "The cannon is quite similar to the ones in my suit, but with a different sort of energy. I must admit, even I do not possess since advanced technology.

"Yeah, well, I saw a bunch of human skulls in there." Ember declared. "I guess they like hunting them or something. That's just disgusting."

"Hunting humans without a permit: that's against the rules." Walker pointed out, taking out of the Yaujta swords. "Now down to business; these creatures are obviously very dangerous, and their blood harmful even to us. We have had limited success taking them down, but a few of my men have been taken."

"This should be quite a hunt indeed." Skulker grinned. "You have any idea when Technus will be ready for battle. Annoying as he is, he's useful."

"From the looks of it, not for a while," Johnny 13 sighed. "That alien, or at least I think it's one, did a number on him. I say we show all these punks who this town belongs to!"

"That's right, Johnny!" Kitty agreed. "Just don't destroy your Shadow again."

"Enough debating; we have to think of a plan." Walker cut in. "These things are a great threat to us. Bullet here told me that he saw one of them using our powers."

"No matter; we can still defeat them!" Exclaimed Youngblood.

"This is not a game, idiot!" Skulker snapped. "The Observants are useless right now, so we have to protect ourselves. Much as I hate to say it, we may have to ally with the whelp yet again."

"What about Plasmius?" Kitty wondered. "What do we do about him?"

"I'll take care of him." Walker promised. "That fool is going to pay for putting us in danger."

"So what do we know about these dipsticks?" Ember wondered. Skulker gave her one of the spinning disks he managed to steal.

"They seem to breed within hosts, much like how our kind give birth to children." He explained. "However, the result in their case happens to be death, although we can survive the implantations, unlike humans. The creatures that obtain our powers are far deadlier than the normal ones, so we must proceed cautiously. Make sure you are not infected at all costs!"

"Right, gotcha!" Johnny agreed. "Now wouldn't these things hide somewhere secluded when they aren't searching for food, somewhere where most would not stumble on them!"

"You've got a point, I'll give you that." Ember replied. "So where do we search first?"

"Sorry I'm late." Desiree panted, obviously injured. "I had to deal with a couple of those beasts on the way." Skulker grabbed her tightly, and scanned her for several seconds.

"You are not infected." He finally said, letting her go.

"Perhaps, but several newborns with our powers are around, coming out of Walker's men." Desiree told them, tempted to laugh at the look on his face.

"Wonderful, like things couldn't get any worse." Kitty muttered.

"So what? I'll get my ship and blast them to pieces!" Youngblood shouted, flying around crazily. The others had just about enough of his antics.

"We can start searching the sewers and abandoned buildings." Walker ordered. "That would be their most likely place of residence."

"We must be wary of an ambush, however." Skulker warned. "Even my most advanced equipment has difficulty detecting them. If anyone is infected, we must destroy them. This has to be contained." They had come to see Amity has their territory. Besides, if it was to fall into chaos, the ghosts wanted to be the ones responsible for it.

"I think we all agree on that one." Johnny declared. "Now it's time for some ass-kicking! Also, I suggest we take down these other creatures before they become more of a problem."

"They are hunting the same beasts as we." Skulker informed. "However, once all this is over, I would like to hunt them. They would be an excellent addition to my trophy room."

All of them heard hissing in the distance and got into a circle, all of them ready for battle. A Xenomorph rushed towards them, swinging its tail. Skulker grabbed it, and threw it into a building. "You'll have to do better than that." He bragged. He fired his cannons, causing major injuries. Ember joined in, and it wasn't long before the Xenomorph was destroyed.

"I thought you said they were a threat, Skulker." Walker laughed, his men chuckling along with him. However, Skulker's words were proven true when he was impaled in the back by another Xenomorph. His men attacked it, managing to force it back, but Walker was badly injured and incapable of fighting.

"Okay, this isn't good." Desiree gulped. Over 30 Xenomorphs surrounded them, including one with their powers.

XXXXXX

Vlad woke up, seeing his body surrounded by wires. "I thought I was dead." He moaned. "Where the hell am I?"

"You're at your castle." Fright Knight responded. "I felt it prudent to take you to a place where there was equipment to specifically heal hybrids."

"Where's Maddie?" asked Vlad. "Did you manage to get her?"

"I did, but I was not able to save her. She could not hold on long enough to get here." Fright Knight winced, expecting Vlad to blow up at him. Instead, he merely forced himself up and started crying. _This is not the Vlad I remember. I thought he would be destroying anything in sight. _

Vlad was no less shocked. He had not cried in nearly 20 years. He didn't even know he was capable of it, but he couldn't help himself. The woman he loved was dead, and there was nothing he could do to prevent it. "I'm going back and killing those bastards."

"I would advise against it. You are badly weakened from the battle. There is no doubt in my mind that you will die."

"So be it; I'm going to take out as many of them as I can with me."

"Think this through! I understand your desire for vengeance, but you are in no condition for battle. Your powers are almost completely depleted, and beyond that, the ghosts have intervened and they will not be happy to see you."

"He is quite right, Vlad." Clockwork declared as he appeared. "Now is not the time for you to go into battle. However, Daniel will need you before the end. Come, let me show you something. Fright Knight, can he get out of this tube?"

"I believe so." He replied. "His injuries have mostly healed. Now it's just a question of how long it takes for his power to recover." Vlad slowly got up and followed Clockwork. He tried to transform into Plasmius, but found himself unable to do it.

Clockwork went to his telescope and pointed it to what he wanted Vlad to see. "Wait, are those things Yaujta ships?" He asked, to which Clockwork nodded. "Wonderful, as if things couldn't get any worse. So what do I do?"

"I believe you got your hands on some of their technology." Vlad nodded. "Try and figure it out; there's one part you have overlooked. Your new weaponry you were designing prior to the asteroid heading towards us will be useful. Sigh, things are getting worse. It's only a matter of days before New York suffers the same fate as Amity Park with the queen running around there." He desperately wished he could tell Vlad everything, but things were already set in motion. True, the other warriors arriving would be disastrous, but not for the reasons he believed. All he could do now was watch and wait. He disappeared as quickly as he came

Vlad walked out, activating some of his weaponry. There was nothing seriously wrong with it, although they needed to be recharged. He spotted the Yaujta weapons he had acquired before all this occurred. He took the spear, waving it around. "What makes this thing so deadly?" He asked himself. "Clockwork told me there's a piece that I'm missing."

He analyzed it again, looking at the strange parts of the weapon. There was something that coated the outside of it. How could he not have seen it before? He turned it to 300,000 magnifications and saw hints of nanotechnology. "So that's how their weapons are so durable!"

He took the disk and put it under the machine, which gave the same results. Ectoplasm combined with the nano-bots was their secret! Thankfully, he had somehow managed to keep the second spear. Now how could he get more of these weapons?

"Remember the rumors you were researching while you were still mayor?" Fright Knight asked. Vlad raised his eyes, not realizing he was speaking out loud. "Perhaps they can help you."

"Those were conspiracy websites that I decided to investigate further." He sighed. "I found very little evidence outside of them. Still… I'll work on anything at this point." He did not want to think about Maddie, or he would not be able to function. "However, I intend to wait until at least some of my powers have returned." He went to work on the half-finished machines, intending to slaughter the creatures that infested Amity Park. He had stolen the technology from the Guys in White. Now it was just a question on making sure they would work of Xenomorphs.

XXXXXX

"Who the hell are you guys?" asked the commanding officer, Sergeant Baker.

"I'm afraid we can't tell you that, but considering we saved your ass from those creatures, you could be a little more cooperative." Dutch replied, although he could understand them. "Sigh, my name is General Dutch Schaefer, and we're here as a response to this threat. Have you noticed any of your men skinned?"

"Yes; we've fought these things." He stated. "We managed to kill one of them, but they have advanced weaponry and considerable skill. Thankfully, they seem to be hunting the same creatures we are. I suggest all of you take a grenade."

"What for?"

"To blow yourselves up if these creatures; it's better than dying from some creature bursting out of your chest. Several of my men have had to do so already. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to do much since our communication was cut off."

"I see. I have to warn you that more of these Hunter Beasts are going to arrive here soon. It is why our plans were accelerated. Reinforcements are coming, at least if they don't have to deal with too much red tape; lousy bureaucracy. I've faced them before. I know how they fight. What can you tell me about these other creatures?"

"Well, they are resistant to most of our smaller weapons, though armor piercing weapons and explosives seem to work. We've blown up a couple of buildings where these things were inside, along with potential hosts. It wasn't an easy decision, but it had to be done. If you'll pardon me for asking, why are you out in the field at this age?"

Dutch nodded; that was pretty much what they had discovered on the Predator ship. "Quite simple: revenge. I'm not letting these motherfuckers kill others simply because it brings status to their kind. Let us hope reinforcements are coming soon, or we're going to be in far worse trouble."

"What about that Phantom kid? Do you think he'll be willing to help us?"

"We've been searching but we can't find him. None of us have the proper equipment to search for ghosts. Do you have any idea where the main nest is?"

"Not much long in finding it; we found a few small extensions, but not the main nest. Do you have any idea where it is?"

"I'm afraid not. We are doing whatever we can. However, this is getting rapidly out of control so we decided to come to you."

"Why don't any of your teammates talk?"

"They are fairly new, and are merely listening. However, do not underestimate them; they are quite intelligent."

"So what do we do?"

"I have my suspicions that the nest is in a school called Casper High. Ana observed one of the beasts entering the school." Dutch took one of the grenades.

"I admit, I'm getting worried. If this gets too terrible, the army will nuke this city to contain the outbreak."

"Typical incompetence; Sergeant, consider yourself and your men under my command." Baker nodded in understanding and submission. "We blow up any extensions of the nest and kill these Predators on sight."

"Can you tell me anything about them that will help us?"

"Of course; they have near perfect camouflage, but even with their cloaks, they can be seen. They look like a shimmer and most people would think it is a trick of the light, but that is the only opportunity you have. Do you have any night vision goggles?"

"Yeah, but they're useless against these things."

"Not against the Predators. True, the outline is faint, but they can be seen. True, we cannot hide ourselves from them, but we have ways of seeing them as well."

"All right, general, what do you want us to do?"

"We have to act quickly. Arm your men and get ready to move at 900 hours. They travel in groups, as it will be suicide to wander alone. You are to keep radio frequencies open at all times." He approached his team, some of whom were hesitant about it.

"What if they learn about our group?" Anna worried. "I shudder to think of what their reaction will be."

"True, but we cannot stand by and do nothing." Dutch argued. "The purpose of our group is to protect this planet from aliens, and that is what I intend to do! We better get ready."

XXXXX

The hive had grown since the last attack. The Xenomorphs were more cautious now, knowing better than to underestimate their enemies. For the past few days, they had taken people quietly to the nest, where they were infected with newborns. Over the past 48 hours, the hive had grown from 150 to nearly 400. True, many of them perished in their vengeance attack, but their numbers were rapidly replenishing.

Unfortunately, there were no more eggs left, and the queen they took in was not yet capable of laying them. True, she was bigger than anareas hy of them now, but her Ovipositor was not fully formed. Still, she had a commanding presence and none of them dared to disobey her.

A few of their areas had been invaded and destroyed. True, the enemy took high causalities, but the Hive was vulnerable, despite their considerable numbers. Therefore, they decided to stay in hiding until the queen was fully mature. The warriors surrounded her, while the drones reinforced the area.

Now all they had to do was wait; once she bred queen eggs, their nest could truly spread and wipe out their enemies.

XXXXX

"This is getting really tiring." Danny sighed. True, none of the Yaujta attacked them, but it was made obvious they were disliked. It was only a matter of time before tensions exploded. "I want to avenge Vlad and Maddie." _I never thought I'd actually like the guy, but circumstances always change._

"We will, Danny, I promise." Jack reassured.

"We better have some kind of plan." Jazz warned. "We need to find a way to get their weapons." It was risky, but what other option did they have? She wanted to avenge Maddie, though she really didn't care about Vlad.

"I have to admit, all of this is cool!" Tucker exclaimed. "We can kick serious alien butt with these things!"

"Perhaps, but the elder would literally skin you alive if you tried it." Umbra warned, startling everyone but Danny. "I warned you for a reason. I can't protect you if he wants you dead. Tensions are bad enough already."

"We have to do something." Sam protested. "No matter what your fellows do, things continue to get worse! The fact you keep fighting with people doesn't help!"

"Never fear, reinforcements are set to arrive in a matter of hours." Umbra told them, but it was far from reassuring.

"Idiot! Do you know what that is going to do?" Danny demanded. "They will slaughter any armed human they see! It'll be worse than these other beasts are!"

"They don't know that you are not hunting humans." Jazz said more gently. "They want worthy prey, and once the aliens are destroyed, they will turn on us."

"I hadn't thought of that." Umbra conceded. "True, we did come to contain the Kainde Amedha, but my fellows will probably hunt humans as well. Since your government will doubtless send reinforcements… this is going to be bad."

"No shit, Sherlock!" Danny snarled.

"Hey, Danny." Paulina declared, putting her arms around him. "I just think it's so cool that you're Phantom! Not to mention hot…" She leaned in to kiss him. Danny intended to stop her, but Sam backhanded her across the face.

"Leave Danny alone, you whore!" Sam screamed. Paulina was furious, raising her always-manicured nails. Before anything else could happen, Umbra grabbed Sam and Jack grabbed Paulina. Both girls struggled to reach the other, but their grips were firm.

"Seriously, guys, stop this." Tucker sighed, serious for once. "Usually, I'd love to see a cat fight, but we do have aliens trying to kill us all. You can settle it once all this is over."

"I can't believe you're being serious." Danny shook his head. "Umbra, thanks for your help, but we should probably go. I'm somewhat recovered now and I want to get back out there. Where's Valerie?" Valerie screamed, falling to the floor. Behind her was Cella, looking furious.

"What is going on here?" Umbra asked, hoping to prevent a full-scale war. "Cella, I told you to leave her alone."

"She tried to steal my weapons!" she screeched. "I'm going to make sure she regrets it!" That, and the girl was a worthy opponent. The stance she was in made it clear she knew what she was doing.

Jack, Jazz, Sam, Tucker, and Danny formed a protective circle around her. Danny transformed into Phantom, his hands glowing with energy.

Umbra drew his weapon, standing in front of them. "You won't harm them; again, she is a youngling. If I have to fight you, so be it." Cella drew her own weapon, and each waited for the other to make the first move. Danny flew to his right, ready to defend him. "This isn't your fight."

"I'm not going to let you die." Danny argued stubbornly.

"What is going on here?" Jonlr'de demanded, obviously angry, although only Cella and Umbra could understand him.

"That ooman tried to steal my weaponry!" Cella protested.

"She is a youngling; it is against the code to hunt her!" Umbra exclaimed. "Also, do not jump to conclusions so rapidly; Innocent until proven guilty, after all."

"Not with oomans," Jonlr'de shook his head. "They are untrustworthy and now I regret ever giving them a chance to prove themselves!" He backhanded Danny, sending him into the wall.

"I didn't know they were hers!" Valerie defended herself. "I just saw them laying around and wanted to know how they worked!" Jonlr'de didn't understand much, but his translator gave him the gist of it.

"Liar!" He roared, sending his disk towards Valerie, who barely got out of the way in time. Jack tackled him from behind, knowing he couldn't win, but wanting to give them a chance to escape. Jonlr'de threw him off and sheathed his spear, but ready to fight.

"You have an ooman's attitude, Umbra!" Cella snarled, slashing at him with her knife. "We never should have let you come here!"

"Or perhaps you only see what you want to see!" Umbra shouted back, blocking her strikes and trying to get in his own. "I lived on this planet for 20 of their years; I know them better than you do! These humans are not dishonorable; you merely want them to be so you can believe your narrow-minded opinion!" Cella fought harder, slowly driving him back.

Out of everyone else, only Danny was having any success in fighting elder Jonlr'de. Unfortunately, he was still weakened from his last battle and not at full strength. Jack took out the ghost gauntlets and assaulted, managing to draw some blood. Valerie tackled him as well, hitting and kicking where she thought he was vulnerable.

Danny blasted him several times, but none of them got through his armor, even though he didn't have all of it on. Jonlr'de drew his spear, stabbing him through the gut. "Danny!" Sam screamed, rushing towards Jonlr'de, but she was batted aside by the spear.

"Be grateful I cannot kill you honorably!" Jonlr'de exclaimed, looking at her angrily. Of course, Sam didn't understand him, but knew it was nothing good. They saw Tucker and Paulina had disappeared, though they didn't know where.

Danny managed to pull it out, and sealed his wound, although he was barely managing to stay in Phantom form. Jack and Valerie took a defensive stance, although they were terrified. "Get out of here, Valerie!" Jack commanded. "I'll hold him off!" Before either could move a move, Umbra was thrown into the duo.

"I thought you were better than this!" Cella laughed. "I guess all that time with oomans has made you soft!" Umbra crawled up and prepared himself for any attack. He positioned himself in front of Jack and Valerie, hoping they would get the hint.

"I will kill the traitor!" Jonlr'de ordered. "Take care of the oomans. They should make fine trophies." She nodded and headed towards them, her knife swinging towards them. Now Umbra was truly terrified. He had no chance of defeating an elder, but he would go down with honor.

"Leave them alone, Pendejo!" Paulina exclaimed angrily, firing the plasma caster. Her and Tucker had raided the weapons area and took what they felt they could use. She fired the weapon twice, although the force almost knocked her down.

Jonlr'de was quick enough to avoid a direct hit, but one of the shots grazed his side. Umbra took the chance and aimed for his heart. Again, he failed, but the elder was now on the defensive.

Tucker turned to Cella, throwing one of the disks he had acquired. Sam kicked her with her combat boots, desperate to protect her friends. True, she still didn't like Paulina, but they were in this together. Cella grabbed her by the neck, and starting crushing her larynx. Tucker threw the disk again, forcing her to dodge, but on the return trip, she grabbed it in mid-air and faced her opponents.

Valerie kicked her in the throat, loosening her grip enough so that Sam could break free. Jack tackled her from the side, like he had done in his football years.

Danny, Umbra, and Paulina fought Jonlr'de together, but even so, they were unable to kill him; he was simply too skilled. He threw the disk at the trio and while two were able to dodge in time, Paulina was not experienced in combat and had her right arm sliced off at the elbow. She screamed and fell to the ground, and held her stump of an arm.

"Is this what Yaujta culture is really about, Elder?" Umbra demanded, attacking him angrily. "Do you think you have the right to slaughter whomever you choose, as long as they are armed? What possible honor is there in this?! Tell me!"

"We are to be the best warriors." He replied. "She decided to attack me, and paid the price for it. Her skull will go on my wall, right alongside yours!"

Danny tended to Paulina, knowing he had to do something. She was losing blood fast, so he gulped and grabbed her severed arm. "I'm sorry, Paulina." He apologized, knowing what he would have to do. His hand glowed and he slowly fused the arm back onto her body, although he wasn't sure how much good it would be able to do. The blood and her screams nearly made him pass out, but he forced himself to continue. He fired a mild blast, knocking her unconscious.

Once it was over, he approached Jonlr'de and tackled him. Ordinarily, he wouldn't be able to do this in his weakened state, but Danny was too pissed off to care. He tore his armor off, and started punching him mercilessly. Jonlr'de tried to stab him with the spear, but he grabbed his arm and actually managed to break it. Danny put his other arm around Jonlr'de neck, and held him up, glaring angrily into his eyes.

Jonlr'de knew he wouldn't be able to win. Slowly, he reached towards the self-destruct device, but Danny knew what he was trying to do and fired a powerful blast into his face. He kept firing, his hate motivating him. After around a minute, he delivered the finishing blow.

"Holy shit!" Tucker exclaimed. "I didn't know you were that strong."

"You have just killed an elder." Umbra declared. "Do you have any idea what the others will do to you?" Danny shrugged. "You have become the eternal enemy of the Yaujta! They will hunt you down relentlessly!"

"Great, like things couldn't get any worse." Jazz muttered. "Let's get out of here!"

"You don't need to tell me twice." Paulina moaned. "Danny, I'm still in pain; can you carry me?" Jack decided to do so instead, since tension between her and Sam was the last thing they needed at this point.

XXXXX

It took some time, but Vlad had finally found the man he was looking for. Thankfully, these so-called "Predator incidents" were well-documented. Besides, the man owed him. He knocked on the door, an evil smile on his face.

"If it isn't Michael Harrigan," Vlad smirked. "I believe we're overdue for a discussion."

Damn, this is definitely going to be longer than I thought. It makes me wonder just how long this story is going to get. I'd like, say, 3 or 4 reviews before I update again. It lets me know people actually like this story. Also, if you're going to flame me, at least give me a reason why you don't like the story. Anyway, here's the next prank call

Moe: Moe's tavern, Moe speaking.

Bart: Yes, I'm looking for a Mrs. O' problem, first name Bea.

Moe: Just a sec; I'll check. Bea O'problem; Bea O' problem! Come on, guys, do I have a B.O. problem here?

Barney: You sure do! (Everyone laughs)

Moe: It's you, isn't it? Listen, you, when I get ahold of you, I'm going to use your head for a bucket and paint my house with your brains! (Bart laughs)

Marge: Bart, I need you to go down to Moe's tavern; I need you to bring your father home. (Bart gulps)


	8. NOTICE: IMPORTANT!

I just figured I'd let you know I may not be able to update for a while. Yes, I have a legitimate reason this time. The other day, I got into a car wreck and I'm still a bit banged up. However, my mom is in the hospital with 3 fractured ribs. She's supposed to be leaving today, but I don't know that for sure.

Considering this idiot slammed into the side of my car at about 60 miles an hour, both of us are lucky to be alive. It hit my mom's side, so she got the worst of it. It was one of these big trucks you often see around. That kid is in deep shit, and I don't give a damn.

On the bright side, my mom will live, though it'll take at least a month for her ribs to heal. I'm still recovering from my own injuries. If there's a delay in new chapters, this is why.


	9. Too close to home

Okay, it looks like keeping it at ten chapters isn't going to work, either. I have the rest of the plot outlined in my head, so we'll see where it goes. Again, I'm hoping for three reviews before I update again. In any case, here's the next prank call. (And chapter)

Bart: I gotta do something… hmm (thinks)

Ruth Powers: but it says "good for one free beer at Moe's". This is Moe's tavern, isn't it?

Moe: No, this is… Bo's cavern.

Ruth Powers: Give me my beer.

Moe: Stupid welcome-mobile; I knew it would ruin me. (phone rings) Yeah, just a sec; I'll check. Amanda Hugginkiss! Hey, I'm lookin' for Amanda Hugginkiss! Oh, why can't I find "A man to hug and kiss"? (everyone laughs)

**Barney:** Maybe your standards are too high!

**Moe:** You little S.O.B. Why, if I ever find out who you are, I'm going to shove a sausage down your throat and stick starving dogs in your butt!

**Bart:** My name is Jimbo Jones and I live at 1094 Evergreen Terrace.

**Moe:** Aha! Big mistake, pal! I knew he'd slip up sooner or later!

"So what do we do now?" Valerie asked, looking at the others. She felt a little guilty for getting them kicked out, but the woman completely overreacted to her. Thankfully, Paulina wasn't around anymore to rub her face in it.

"The same thing we've been doing: stopping these creatures before they destroy the entire city." Danny replied. "The army was all but destroyed, which means it's up to us."

"Up to you, you mean." Tucker added. "None of us have your powers." He couldn't quite hide the envy in his voice.

"That may be true, but I still need your help." Danny declared. "We're slowing down the infestation, but haven't been able to stop it. We better come up with something fast, or we're all going to end up becoming hosts."

"Danny's right; we're going to kick some alien butt!" Jack exclaimed. "Speaking of which, I managed to sneak this out of the Predator fortress." He held a plasma pistol in his hands.

"Only because I managed to distract them," Umbra reminded Jack. "We're also going to have to watch out for them as well. Because Danny killed the elder, the others will be gunning for us. I hate to speak this way, but I don't think we're getting out of this alive."

"We've got to think positively." Jazz advised. "Otherwise, we'll give in to despair."

"I've felt that way for years, but you do have a point." Sam conceded. Before she could say anything else, a scream pierced their ears.

"We've got to help them!" Jack exclaimed, preparing the plasma pistol.

"Let's not be hasty." Umbra warned. "They could be leading us into a trap; they are quite intelligent after all."

"Wait, that's a scream of pain, not fear," Jazz deduced. Danny transformed into Phantom and ran over there, the others struggling to keep up. They had seen it before, but the sight of someone about to give birth to a chestburster still made them sick.

It crawled out of the woman's body, growling. Umbra unsheathed his blade, and impaled it before it was able to do anything. However, to everyone's shock, two more came out of the woman's abdomen. Danny blasted them once he had regained his wits, but one of them managed to get away.

"They can implant multiple embryos in a single host?" Valerie exclaimed fearfully. "Now how the hell do we beat them?"

"This is not a facehugger's doing; it is a juvenile queen." Umbra informed them. "The only good thing about this is that she is not yet able to create queen embryos, so we must hunt her down before she can."

"Yeah, I know." Sam breathed quickly. "I just hope I can keep it together."

"It's not easy for any of us." Jack replied. "I wish you kids weren't dragged into this, but we don't have much choice in the matter." Tears clouded his eyes, but he hastily wiped them away.

"I wonder how many of those things there are." Tucker asked, more to himself than the others. There was a large explosion in the air, forcing them all to look up. None of them had any idea of what that was.

"One of our ships," Umbra whispered, but they all heard him. "It must have been destroyed, but who could have done that? To my knowledge, humans do not know we exist, much less having the capability to destroy a yautja warship."

"We don't know any more than you do." Jazz shrugged. "I'm starting to think we should get everyone out of Amity Park and nuke the area."

"Are you insane, Jazz?" Sam demanded. "Do you have any idea what that will do to the environment?"

"I'm also aware of what these creatures will do if they spread." Jazz retorted. "Considering how deadly they are, if they multiply to a sufficient number, we will have no chance at stopping them."

"I think they already have." Tucker sighed, looking at his PDA. "It says here that over a dozen have been killed in New York under mysterious circumstances. It sounds like chestbursters to me."

"I hope they can contain that before New York becomes like Amity." Valerie worried.

"Right now, we've got to deal with our problem here." Jack reminded them. "We can worry about them later."

There was another scream and a series of gunshots. "Come on, you bastard!" he screamed. "Do your worst!" They heard another burst of gunfire and saw him running and firing. "You'll pay! You'll all pay!" It turned out to be Derek, but to their surprise, he was not afraid; he was murderous.

"Help him, Danny!" He transformed into Phantom, but Umbra beat him to it, launching his disk and cutting the Xenomorph in half, at the same time being careful to keep Derek out of danger. It had sustained considerable injury, but it was obvious that Derek could not have won that fight.

"Wow, it's Phantom!" he exclaimed. "Wait, what are you doing with the Fentons? And where's Danny?" He had a suspicion, but decided to keep his mouth shut for the moment.

"I'm glad to see you're all right." Jazz told him, hugging him tightly. He hissed in pain, and she let him go.

"Sorry; it's a minor acid burn." He sighed. "Hurts pretty badly, but I'm used to it. I'm one of the nerds at school. Speaking of which, there's a nest forming in Casper High. There are about a dozen dead bodies in there. I went back there to get some stuff I forgot when I saw a cocooned man in there. I tried to help him, but he begged me to kill him; I think it was Mr. Faluca- anyway, I tried to get him out when he started convulsing. I didn't know what the hell was going on but a splash of blood hit me and next thing I know, I see a creature coming out of his chest. I killed it with my gun, and…"

"How did you get a gun anyway?" Valerie asked.

"Stole it off a dead soldier; it's not like he needs it." Derek replied. Not noticing her angry look, he went on. "It's cool in movies, but I can't stand it in real life. One of those creatures came after me, trying to do the same to me. I dodged and got the hell out of there-good thing I know how to play dodgeball- The gun hurt him, but I just couldn't kill the bastards. Thanks for your help."

"What were you looking for?" Danny asked.

"A picture of my father; it's all I have left of him." Forcing himself not to cry, he went on. "He was one of the officers killed in the initial attack."

"Man, I'm sorry." Jack shook his head. "I lost my best friends, so I know where you're coming from."

"Thank you; your information was quite valuable." Umbra informed. "We better take care of it." At his words, Derek realized Umbra was there and screamed, pointing his gun at Umbra and pushing Jazz behind him.

"He's on our side, Derek." Sam rolled her eyes. "Otherwise, we wouldn't be bringing him along."

"He saved my life and fought his elder to save my family." Danny added, but gulped when he realized the slip.

"So you're Danny Fenton?" Derek realized, slowly lowering his gun. "I probably should have figured it out, seeing you with his friends and family, but my observation skills leave something to be desired. I'm not going to tell anyone; besides, you'd probably kill me if I did."

"I'm glad you were here, Jasmine." Umbra told her. "I was about to shoot him down when I realized he was your mate." Both of them blushed at that. "In any case, we have to take down that nest. Danny, come with me; the rest of you stay here."

"We aren't staying here, buddy; we're following Danny." Tucker declared.

"We're his friends; someone has to keep him out of trouble." Sam pointed out.

"Yeah, Danny's my son!" Jack exclaimed. "What kind of father would I be if I didn't protect him?"

"And I'm not about to leave Jazz!" Derek nodded grimly. "Beyond that, I want some payback." Umbra sighed and relented, beckoning them to follow. "By the way, how do your weapons work?"

"Huh?" Umbra asked.

"When you threw that discus, it came back to you like a boomerang." Derek pointed out. "Of course, I didn't know it was yours, but it came back. Does that thing have a computer chip in it, or is it magnetic, or…" The rest of his words were lost on him. Umbra flashed Jazz a _Does he ever shut up? _Look; Jazz shook her head.

Umbra explained the best he could, but Derek kept asking questions. Apparently he was quite interested in science fiction, and asked about every single weapon he had. Jazz eventually got him to quiet down, but he looked like he had more questions to answer.

Finally, they arrived at Casper High. It looked the same as it always did, save that a couple of the windows were broken. Umbra and Danny went in first, looking around carefully for Xenomorphs. The others followed, and didn't find anything wrong with the place.

"It's down where they keep all the meat." Derek explained. "Just be careful." He looked at Sam and Danny. "By the way, Sam, Danny's staring at your chest." (I'm basing this character on me; I've said stuff like that many times) Both of them were stammering, since it was true. "I measured the angle of your eyes and drew an imaginary to their destination."

"What kind of kid is he?" Danny muttered. "He reminds me of that retarded kid… uh, Ralph Wiggum."

"He has a learning disability." Jazz defended him. "I'll tell you about it later." They continued searching, while Derek continued asking Umbra questions. They walked down to the basement, all on their guard.

"Jazz, get in front of me," Derek told her. "I have the better weapon, so I'll be able to cover you." She nodded and did so. The others felt it was cowardice, but didn't say anything. The tension was very thick due to strained tempers and fear; a single incident could bring about panic.

"Yep, he's right." Sam told them, looking at the dead bodies. "These look like where those creatures burst. Jeez, I'm a goth, and I find this disgusting."

"There's one of them hiding close by." Umbra warned. "Get ready." He continued to scan the area, looking in every direction. "This can't see well through walls, but I'm getting faint readings in the other room."

"Then let's do it." Derek exclaimed, raising his gun. "Just turn the damn lights on; I want to be able to see!" Danny flew up and turned the ceiling light on. A xenomorph was now visible and headed straight for Tucker. Umbra fired a plasma shot, killing it.

"I'm sure they all heard that; form a circle!" Danny ordered. They were around the small center of light. "I'm going to try and turn more lights on." Because of his hybrid status, he could see in the dark, but the others could not.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm scared." Sam sighed, forcing herself to stay put.

"So are all of us, but that is what makes you a hero, Sam." Jack informed. "You're afraid, and yet you're willing to stand your ground anyway." Umbra fired a second plasma shot, which missed, blowing up a piece of the wall.

"Let's rock!" Valerie laughed, wanting payback as Derek did. One of them charged forward, but Derek blasted it, knocking it off course. Jack fired the plasma pistol, blowing the tail off, but was forced to dodge the gush of blood that resulted.

Another tackled Umbra, rendering him unable to use his weapons. They struggled, and Danny rushed to help, but remembered that if he destroyed the Xenomorph, the acidic blood would likely kill Umbra as well. The others found themselves surrounded and fired in all directions.

"Watch out, Sam!" Tucker exclaimed. She fired her weapon at the creature, sending it into a pile of meat. The Xenomorph ate the meat surrounding it and swung its tail, nearly impaling Jack.

Danny was fighting with a majority of them. (around 7) Because of his weakened condition, it was more or less a draw. They weren't able to take him, but he wasn't powerful enough to destroy any of them because of the speed they were moving. Both sides had shown injuries, but Danny was at least thankful that they weren't attacking his friends.

Meanwhile, Umbra finally threw his opponent off him and into another Xenomorph that was fighting with Jazz and Derek. Derek blasted the stunned creature, which caused it to stumble and Umbra quickly finished it with a plasma shot.

Derek rolled to the ground to avoid another one which swung its claws in an attempt to capture him. Jazz fired the Fenton Peeler, forcing it on the defensive. Umbra drew his spear and stood in front of them. The Xenomorph spit acid, impacting his armor. Fortunately, it was strong enough to last until he took it off. He stood in a defensive position, ready for the Xenomorph. It leaped and was quickly impaled in the stomach. Jazz attacked it in the injured area, as did Derek. Eventually, it stopped moving.

"Thanks for the help." Derek nodded.

"Anytime, kid." Umbra replied. He looked at his wrist computer. "It looks like my plasma cannon only has one more shot. I better make it count." He decided to use the spear for the moment and leaped to assist Danny.

Valerie screamed as her shoulder was cut by the creature's claws. It grabbed her, and started crawling on the wall. She kicked it hard, but it didn't even seem to feel it. It held her in place as a facehugger leaped towards her. She gasped, thinking it was the end.

That is, until Jack grabbed it by the tail and threw it aside, finishing it with the pistol. Umbra threw his spear, stabbing it through the head. Danny finally managed to kill two of his opponents with a combination of ice and ectoplasm. Derek did something that was both brave and incredibly stupid: he jumped on top of a Xenomorph heading for Jazz. He fired the gun at point blank range, but even that was not enough to bring it down, and the resulting acid burned his clothing. He tore it off, but a little was still on his skin. He screamed, but held firm.

Furious, Jazz attacked it with the peeler and Danny launched ice at its feet, stopping it. It broke free, of course, but Umbra pulled Derek off. "What the hell were you thinking?" Umbra demanded angrily. "You could have gotten killed!" However, he had a certain amount of respect for his bravery.

Tucker and Sam had run out of ammo, so there was nothing they could do but watch the battle. There were now 5 Xenomorphs left, and the humans were slowly gaining the advantage. Jack fired the last shots in his pistol, killing another one. Unfortunately, only Umbra and Danny were still capable of fighting. All Umbra still had in the way of weaponry happened to be his disk and wrist blades.

Their remaining opponent had learned from their fallen comrades as well. They approached more cautiously, dodging attacks and waiting for the right moment to take their hosts. Two distracted Danny and Umbra, while the others grabbed Danny and Tucker. "No!" Danny screamed in horror, flying towards them, but he could not reach them. Valerie fired her weapon in a futile effort to hit them. He fell to the floor, screaming.

Umbra, meanwhile used his disk to slice apart one of the Xenomorphs. Unknown to him, Derek wandered off and tried to pull out the spear Umbra had used. With leverage, he pulled it out and rushed back to the battle. Fear began to set in him, but he was not able to bring himself to abandon the others.

"That's the last of them." Jack sighed, punching the Xenomorph with the ghost gauntlets. Danny got up, hatred in his eyes (Jazz noticed they turned red) and killed it, gleefully ripping it apart. He grinned in a way not unlike Dan, and faced them. However, once the battle was over, he turned back to Fenton and sighed, unable to say anything, and no one knew what to say to him.

"Shouldn't we find a way to save them?" Derek wondered. "The sooner we find the main nest, the better chance they have."

"I don't think that's likely." Umbra replied, bowing his head in respect. "They were probably taken to the main nest to be impregnated. Even if we did find them, we'd just have to kill them to spare them the pain."

"Wait a minute, I just thought of something!" Jack exclaimed suddenly. "We can use the Fenton trackers! Maddie put them on you over a year ago without you even knowing it! ("Convenient." Derek muttered to himself) Not only can we rescue them, but we can destroy the nest as well."

"Yeah, but how long will it take Danny to recover?" asked Valerie. "And how long do they have?"

"In your time, it'll take about an hour or two to cocoon them." Umbra stated, mostly to himself. "From there, the impregnation takes several hours and the embryo is born about 12 to 24 hours after that."

"That means we have a chance!" Danny exclaimed, regaining some hope. "I'm going there right now!"

"Not just yet; how long does it take you to recover?" Derek asked. The answer was about a day to do so completely if he was relatively uninjured. "I've got an idea to speed it up: send him into the ghost zone! If that is their natural habitat, it makes sense that they can recover more quickly there!" (As for whether or not they live or die… you'll have to find out)

_Sam and Tucker were taken to the makeshift nest the juvenile queen made. They struggled and struggled, but could not break free. The __Xenomorphs__ worked quickly, sealing them in resin. Tucker saw a classmate near him, struggling to breathe. She was already infected, and did not have more than a couple of hours to live. Both of them gulped, knowing that would happen to them as well. _

_Eventually, they were thoroughly sealed and the two eggs placed in front of them. Sam spotted another person trapped, but he didn't look infected. That is, until the queen held him in place and began to place an embryo within his body. Their eggs started to open up, and they panicked, but there was nothing they could do. The __facehuggers__ attached themselves and soon all went black. _

XXXXXX

"What do you want from me, asshole?" Harrigan demanded.

"Now, now, try to be a little more polite." Vlad chuckled. "If it wasn't for my intervention, you would have served a long prison sentence." That was putting it mildly. About 7 years ago, Harrigan was arrested for beating a confession out of a young black man. He lost his job, but Vlad used his connections to make sure no charges were filed.

"You don't have any power over me now. Besides, you're the most hated person in the country."

"All I want is what you know about the aliens termed as Predators and the Xenomorphs now infesting Amity Park.'

"I don't know shit about any Xenomorphs. As for those Predators… they've been visiting earth for hundreds of years to hunt us. They have some kind of weird hunting culture. I beat one of them, and they let me go." Harrigan ran for the phone, but Vlad turned into Plasmius and grabbed his foot, holding him upside down.

"I'm not an idiot; what else do you know?"

"Well, some guy named Dutch is hunting these things. He wanted me to help, but I refused."

"There's more to it than that. Tell me or things will get very unpleasant." Vlad typically did not use torture unless it was necessary, but he was rapidly running out of patience.

"Ok, ok! I help find out where deaths that match the description are, and tell them so they can hunt it down! That's all I know; why do you care, anyway?"

"One of them killed the woman I loved, and nothing is going to stop me from killing every last one of them!"

"Damn, that's got to suck." It was the first sympathy he had ever felt for Vlad Masters. "Look, I'll contact Alexa and see what she knows about it."

"Fuck it; I'm not waiting." He left as quickly as he appeared.

"Vlad, he's calling the police right now." Fright Knight warned.

"I'm well aware of that; I have the vultures watching." Vlad laughed. He heard Harrigan scream and curse. "They'll keep him occupied. Sigh, this was a waste of time. Before we go back, let's go to New York and deal with the infestation there before it gets any worse."

"Yes; it would be a shame if we stopped the one in Amity only to have to combat another." Fright Knight agreed. "We can stow onboard a plane; any private jets will be traced back to you."

XXXXX

"Why should I help you, whelp?" Skulker demanded. Danny had approached the group of ghosts for assistance. Many tried to attack, but Danny and Umbra had successfully fended them off.

"We're all in this together." Danny sighed. "They're every bit as dangerous to ghosts as they are to humans. Besides, they would be a worthy hunt."

"Very true, very true," Skulker admitted.

"I'm not going to help you, punk." Walker laughed. "I'd rather see them tear you limb from limb. Even better, infect you with a newborn."

"Yes, we are in this together." Desiree said to herself."If they overwhelm Amity, our world could be next due to the frequent portals. I am in favor of helping them, but this is only temporary."

"I do not require assistance!" Technus boasted. "Technus, the ultimate computer genius, can crush all these puny creatures."

"Unless they sneak up on you, which isn't exactly difficult." Skulker quipped. "Be grateful I decided to save you; be quiet!"

"We don't have time for arguing." Jack cut in before Technus could say anything more. "We're going to rescue Sam and Tucker; we've waited long enough." If they were lucky, they had a few hours in which to rescue them and remove the embryos.

They eventually agreed to do so, and Skulker had to admit, the human's technology was impressive, although it did not match his own. They traveled through the town, where they saw the devastation. Many people were dead and rotting in the streets while the survivors barricaded themselves in their home. It wouldn't do any good, but it made them feel safer.

The growing hive was in an abandoned cave in the woods that people used to explore until it was considered too dangerous. "Yep, they're here." Derek stated, looking at the saliva. Danny and Umbra gulped, but led the way.

"Does anyone have a light?" Jazz wondered. Skulker turned on the lights in his suit and Sam grabbed several big branches to use as torches, which Danny lit. Walker and his goons stayed outside, since he had no desire to help any of them. They proceeded cautiously, knowing what awaited them. It was quite murky inside the cave, which led to Derek falling more than once.

"I can see what they'd choose this place." Derek noted. "It'd be difficult to find anything in here."

"You're not making me feel any better." Danny snapped. "I'm trying to keep my nerve in here."

"I can't blame you." Jack worried. "Still, we've got to try. They'd do the same for us."

"Well said, I admit." Umbra replied. "If you get into any trouble, get out of here. I'll cover you as best I can. Look out!" a chestburster jumped towards them, Derek tripping over his feet. Umbra threw the disk, slicing it in half. "We've got to move fast. It won't be long before the others come after us."

They shined their lights everywhere, looking for Sam and Tucker. Jazz spotted a classmate of hers cocooned to the wall. For a few seconds, she tried to free him only to see a xenomorph had already burst from his chest. From the looks of it, it happened less than an hour ago.

"This is why we have to stop them." Danny declared grimly. Jazz was currently leaning on Derek for support, who wasn't in good condition either. Jack gagged and moved forward; only Umbra was unaffected. They continued down the corridor, even more nervous than before. More corpses lined the walls, but no one could stand to look for them.

"So where are they?" Derek wondered. "This is like a hive, and I'm not sure we can move so far undetected." As if proving his point, two drones jumped towards them. Skulker and Technus blasted them back, and told them to retreat. The resulting acid hit Skulker's armor. It did not quite penetrate, but damaged the right arm badly.

"Even I'm sickened by this." Skulker admitted, trying to fix his suit. "We have to do something or others will suffer this fate."

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but you're right." Valerie nodded. Umbra threw his disk, which stopped in the middle of the Xenomorph's head. It had been killed, but the disk was finally useless.

"It wasn't meant to be used for so long uncleaned." Umbra shook his head. Danny moved forward, covering Valerie. For once, even Technus was mostly silent.

"I will destroy them with my powers." Technus declared. "I will be the one to defeat the ghost boy, not some stupid aliens."

"This is the last thing I ever expected to do." Derek gulped, holding on by a thread. Jazz took a deep breath and continued, both of them pointing their guns everywhere.

"If we don't find them soon, we're going to start shooting each other." Jack admitted. "Umbra, Skulker, have you managed to find anything?"

"Besides us, there seem to be a couple living humans not far from us." Skulker responded, readying his weapons. Danny's hands were glowing, and the others were read for battle.

"Even if they aren't our friends, we have to try and save them." Valerie told the others. "There may not be much we can do, but I am not going to abandon anyone!"

"Good; neither are any of us." Danny replied quickly, but everyone had heard him. "I even trust my old enemies in this, since these creatures are a threat to ghosts as well."

"Just try to be a safe distance from them when you shoot, or their blood will kill you." Jazz warned, speaking mainly to her boyfriend.

They arrived at their destination, but they were not Sam and Tucker. Both were breathing hard, and their eyes widened even more upon seeing them. "Please, kill us; we don't have long." The women were about 50 years old, both of them Hispanic. "Please, show some mercy." Skulker shot them both in the chest, killing them and the embryos.

"This does not appeal to me." He admitted.

"I thought you enjoyed hunting and killing ghosts and humans." Valerie snarled. It was taking all her willpower not to attack them. True, it had to be done, but she still hated ghosts in general.

"I prefer to hunt prey that can fight back; there is no sport in killing a helpless opponent." Skulker refuted.

"Guys, my scanner are detecting a great number of large beings headed towards us." Technus stated in alarm. All of them got ready. Umbra saw them as well, but they were too far away to hit. Besides, all he had left were his wrist blades.

"Danny, get Sam and Tucker; we'll cover you." Jack ordered. "They're about 50 feet away now. We'll hold them off while you get them out."

Any further words stopped when the juvenile queen was spotted. It hissed, showing its teeth. It was almost 10 feet high, its head reaching the roof of the cave. Danny flew as fast as he could in the cramped area, wanting to save Sam and Tucker as soon as possible so he could help the others. Even from a glance, he saw at least two dozen Xenomorphs surrounding them.

He had to admit, he was scared. Danny gulped and saw Sam and Tucker side by side on the wall. They were still alive, as the creatures had not burst out of their chest, but how long would it be?

"Danny." Sam groaned.

XXXXXX

"Nice to see some reinforcements." Dutch smiled, which happened to be his first since the alien invasion. The president had sent in over 10000 soldiers, though most were mainly for evacuation purposes. The remaining 1500 had been put under Dutch's command, along with several squads of Special Forces. They had a good idea where the hive was; now all they had to do was find it.

"I'll agree." Anna nodded. "Without them, we wouldn't be able to do this. Of course, who knows what Phantom has done for us?"

"Yes, I'd like to meet him once all this is over." Dutch agreed. He beckoned the troops forward. They had already killed several Xenomorph with far fewer causalities than expected. Everyone was afraid, but ready to do their duty.

The tanks that were sent covered them from the front and rear, as their shells would be more than enough to kill any Xenomorph. Above them were two Apache helicopters, armed with missiles and miniguns. They were going to leave nothing to chance.

Suddenly, Dutch stopped. He looked around, but nothing was there. That is, except for a red light. "Get down!" he screamed, managing to avoid the resulting plasma shot.

The soldiers took cover and returned fire, as they found they were surrounded by at least 50 Predators. The helicopters and tanks started fighting, but only a couple Yaujta. All of them were determined to go in and eliminate the hive, come what may. All of the Predators were furious, as half their ships had been destroyed.

One thing was clear: neither side would show mercy.

Well, the story's almost done. To tell you the truth, it's a bit of a relief. Updates will not be frequent for a while, though, since my mom is still recovering and needs assistance.

Laura: I'm looking for Ms. Tinkle, first name… (Bart whispers) Ivana.

Moe: Ivana Tinkle, just a sec. Ivana Tinkle! Ivana Tinkle! Everyone put down your glasses; I wanna tinkle! (everyone laughs; episode ends)

Mr. Burns: Must call Smithers… he'll protect me from this beast. I've seen people activate this machine a thousand times; doesn't seem to be any trick to it. Let's see… Smithers. S-M-I-T-H-E-R-S. Success, it's ringing!

Moe: Moe's tavern.

Burns: I'm looking for a Mr. Smithers, first name Waylon.

Moe: Oh, so you're looking for a Mr. Smithers? First name Waylon, is it? Listen to me, you! When I catch you, I'm going to pull out your eyes and shove them down your pants so you can watch me kick the crap out of you, ok? Then I'm gonna use your tongue to paint my boat! (Horrified, Burns sets the receiver inside a drawer)


	10. The end

Damn, this took longer than I expected. I guess I got lazy during my vacation. Oh, well, it happens. This may be the last chapter, or there may be one more. It depends on how things go. The good news is that my mom is recovering nicely and may even be able to go back to work soon.

To be honest, the main reason this took so long was that I was undecided on a few plot points. Now that I've finally made up my mind, I can simply get on with it.

_This prank is over a telegraph because the Simpsons are forced to live like it is 1895. For some reason Moe has a telegraph in his tavern_  
**Moe:** Telegram for Heywood U. Kuddulmee! Heywood U. Kuddulmee? Big guy in the back, "Hey, would you cuddle me"? Big guy stares at Moe. Lenny and Carl laugh  
**Moe:** Oh, do, that little, ooh...to telegraph I'm gonna drive a golden spike where your Union meets your Central Pacific, jackass!  
**Bart:** Laughs

"We're finally here; we've wasted enough time." Vlad snarled, finally arriving at Amity Park with the Fright Knight. "I suppose I shouldn't have taken a detour to pry information out of Harrigan. He turned out to be useless."

"Let's be careful." Fright Knight warned as he flew alongside. "We aren't exactly being subtle and everyone knows who you are. I highly doubt they will react well to your presence."



"True," Vlad conceded. He turned invisible, Fright Knight following his lead. They flew for a few minutes before hearing distant sounds. "That must be their main nest. We've got those fuckers now."

"We can't leave any of them leave. Even if one escapes, we are in a great deal of trouble. Let's not forget the eggs; if some foolish human wanders near them…"

"Yes, I know all of that already. Just fly faster." They sped up and looked at the scene. Instead of Xenomorphs, they saw Predators and soldiers fighting among themselves. The Predators had the advantage of strength, technology, and skill, but a few of their number had already fallen. They were outnumbered over a dozen to one and the soldiers had some weapons that could get through their armor.

But Vlad ignored them all. His intention was to wipe out the Xenomorphs, and if the others decided to waste time fighting one another, it was fine with him. He flew through the cave opening, staying invisible and flying through the walls. Fright Knight followed, watching his back. They floated past several cocooned people; Vlad briefly thought about helping them, but saw that chestbursters had already emerged. "Why did they come out of the stomach?" Vlad wondered. "Strange, but it doesn't really matter right now." He saw a slight movement on the cave wall. Vlad immediately fired an ecto-blast, knocking the Xenomorph to the ground. Not wasting time, he finished it with a shot to the head.

"I'm sure this has attracted attention, Vlad." Fright Knight warned. "We don't know how many there are."

"I imagine there are a good amount of them." Vlad replied, stopping. "Do you hear that? It sounds like fighting within the cave. Unless I am much mistaken, it would be Daniel and his friends."



"He has truly progressed if he is still alive after all this time." Fright Knight nodded. "This can work to our advantage. It means we have to deal with fewer of these creatures."

They heard a scream of rage in the distance. Vlad flew towards it, seeing Daniel on his knees. "Daniel, what is it?" Vlad asked with concern.

"Why would you even care, fruitloop?" he snarled. "You'd just say it was my own fault for being weak."

"Daniel, just tell me; I can help you." Vlad encouraged. True, he didn't think he would have much luck, but he did wish to help the boy. _I hope I'm wrong about this._

"Do it, Vlad." Tucker panted, trapped against the wall along with Sam. "You've got to kill us."

"We're infected; we don't have much time." Sam agreed. She clenched in pain. "I'm afraid, true, but it has to be done. Do it, Masters!" She closed her eyes and winced in anticipation. Daniel fell, crying his eyes out.

"I'm out of power; I can't help them." He managed to choke out. "I'm sorry I failed you."

"Hmm, I'm sure I can do something for them." Vlad muttered, more to himself than to Danny. "We don't have enough time for surgery, but… wait, why didn't I think of this before?" However, before he could do anything, a Xenomorph jumped him from behind. Vlad quickly kicked him off, but before they knew it, they were surrounded. 4 of them were in front of Sam and Tucker, determined to protect the hosts.



Vlad duplicated into 4, blasting every Xenomorph he could find. Fright Knight went into the action as well, cutting through them with his sword. However, the aliens were tough, and were not easily taken down. Vlad cursed as their acidic blood got on his arm.

2 Vlads conjured swords, while the other duplicate concentrated its energy and launched powerful ecto-blasts towards the Xenomorphs. "Daniel, you can turn them intangible." Vlad exclaimed. "That way, their emergence will not harm your friends."

"I'm out of power, Vlad!" Daniel shouted. "I can't even turn into Phantom now." A Xenomorph jumped towards him, but Vlad put a shield around them, knocking the creature aside.

"Just concentrate, Daniel!" Vlad encouraged. "You have more power than you think." He fired deadly shots at the Xenomorph guarding them, but Vlad knew he could not defeat them quickly enough to save Sam and Tucker. One of them stabbed him through the thigh with its tail. The other three immediately pounced on him, attacking Vlad with their teeth and claws.

With a great effort, Vlad tore himself free. He launched ecto-lightning, finally managing to take one of the creatures down. His chest was bleeding profusely, but he forced himself to ignore the pain. He killed another Xenomorph, but saw that Sam and Tucker had very little time. Putting a shield around them and himself, he turned the duo intangible. Chestbursters jumped through them and ran towards Vlad. With a single shot, he killed them both. Vlad felt his shield break and grabbed the Alien that tried to impale him. He threw it into one of the creatures fighting his duplicate.



"Why did you do that, Vlad?" Danny said in shock. "I thought you would be glad to see them dead."

"Daniel, you have already lost your mother." Vlad replied, dodging more attacks. "Losing your friends as well would lead you down a path I dare not think about; I wouldn't wish such a fate on Jack, much less you."

"Thank you, Vlad."

"Anytime, Daniel; just stay down."

"A little help here, please?" Fright Knight exclaimed. Half a dozen xenomorphs had trapped him on the ground. Even when he turned intangible, he was unable to escape. Rolling his eyes, Vlad blasted a path through them. Fortunately for the Fright Knight, his armor withstood most of their attacks. He struck down another Alien, while Fright Knight flew towards Danny and his friends.

"Get them out of here; I can handle this." Vlad ordered, killing another alien. About 10 were left, but they had learned from their comrades and did not bunch together. Vlad recalled his duplicates and conjured a sword. "Now!" Fright Knight looked as if he was ready to argue, but decided against it. He flew out, taking them along. Vlad grinned to himself. "I'm going to enjoy this."

XXXXXXXX

Umbra threw a Xenomorph into the wall, dearly wishing he still had his plasma caster. He was tiring, but not nearly as much as his human companions. However, the ghosts were still providing stubborn resistance, Skulker and Technus in particular. He saw Derek pull Jazz out of the way of the creature's arms.



Many Xenomorphs had been killed, but more kept showing up. Jack, Jazz, Derek, and Umbra were exhausted, not to mention out of ammo. "Just get out of here!" Skulker demanded. "You aren't going to do any more good!"

"Yeah, you dipsticks!" Ember laughed, strumming her guitar. "These things can't handle me! Sigh, I'll cover your escape."

"I hate to say it, but the ghost is right." Jack sighed. "We aren't going to last much longer." The others followed Jack out of the hive, Umbra keeping a close watch on the humans. After a couple of minutes, they managed to get to the outside. A xenomorph appeared in front of them, hissing. Everyone fired, but they were completely out of ammo.

Just before it pounced, a military vehicle knocked it aside. Umbra wasted no time and stabbed it through the throat. "Come on; get the hell in here!" Dash yelled. "We don't have much time." Still in shock, Jazz, Derek, Jazz, and Valerie climbed in. "Just hold on! We got another stop to make!" Derek called out to Umbra, but he had already disappeared.

It screeched to a halt as they spotted Danny, Sam, and Tucker. Danny helped them in, as they were still weak for the aftereffects on impregnation. It was cramped, but they managed to fit in.

"Got any weapons in this damn thing?" Valerie demanded.

"Just check; I didn't exactly have time to search, okay?" Dash replied.

"Why are you helping us, anyway?" Derek wondered. "This isn't exactly like you."



"I lost Kwan to these fucking things, and I want some payback. If I have to put up with Fen-turd and his geeky friends, I have to. Just don't get used to it!"

"Okay, I found one of the weapons." Valerie grinned. "Now let's see them get me!" As if on cue, 2 runners started chasing the jeep. She fired the weapon, laughing the whole time. One runner was shredded to pieces, while the other abandoned pursuit.

"I hope the others are all right." Sam stated. "I never thought I'd think anything positive of them."

"Look to your left!" Derek screamed. A xenomorph jumped from the tree. Valerie fired the rest of the ammo, wounding it; it hissed angrily, but could not give chase. "Let's see if we have any more ammo in here! Tucker, watch where you put your foot." They took a sharp turn to the left.

"Who taught you how to drive?" Tucker demanded to Dash. They took another sharp turn, driving into the town. It was virtually deserted, save for a few parked cars. More runner started coming towards them.

"How many of these things are there?" Jazz asked, managing to find another gun. Valerie found several clips for her weapon and started firing.

"Look to the left!" Danny screamed.

"Your left or my left?" Valerie asked, struggling to stay in the vehicle when Dash made another sharp turn. The runners kept right after them, although the other Xenomorphs fell behind.



"I don't know; just shoot everybody!" Danny replied. Jack took the gun from Jazz and started firing, not hitting much, but the Xenomorphs dodged to avoid it, allowing Dash to take another turn to get away.

"Where the hell are you going?" Derek wondered.

"There's a military stronghold they're evacuating us to!" Dash replied. "I hope I can find it, though."

"Couldn't you have at least brought a map?" Derek shouted. "Watch out!" Another Xenomorph jumped off a wall and came within a few feet of landing on the vehicle.

"I can't believe the government actually did something smart." Sam's eyes widened in surprise; she still had a hard time believing it.

"There's a first time for everything." Jack replied. "Hey, haven't we already been here?"

"I'm taking what options I have, okay?" Dash replied angrily. They still had about half a dozen Xenomorphs on their tail. "Let's see you try to do better!"

"That doesn't sound too hard." Derek replied. "I'm sure it could be done by, say, anyone with half a brain!"

"Enough, both of you!" Jazz shouted. "We don't have time for this right now."

"Okay, okay, Jasmine." Derek smiled, kissing her lightly on the cheek. Dash swerved into an alley where another Xenomorph was waiting.

"Back up, you idiot! Back up!" Tucker screamed. 3 more were behind them, hissing angrily. "Okay, so much for that."



"All right, we're going through!" Dash exclaimed, gunning the vehicle. Valerie and Jack fired their guns behind them to give some cover. If they were going down, it wouldn't be without a fight.

"Oh, god, we're gonna die!" Tucker managed to gasp out. He ducked, waiting for the inevitable. Derek held onto Jazz, while Jack supported Sam and Valerie. All of them braced for impact, and most likely, an acid bath. The vehicle slammed into the alien, crushing it, but its blood sprayed all over the truck, melting it down. Everyone quickly got off, tripping over each other in their haste to get away.

"Okay, now what do we do?" asked Derek. The Xenomorphs were still coming towards them. Valerie and Jack braced themselves for a fight, but even Dash knew there was no way they were going to get out of this.

XXXXXX

"That looks like the last of them." Vlad smirked smugly. He was fairly weak from the fighting, but that did not matter to him at the moment. All that was left was to find the queen.

"Perhaps, but you do not have our loyalty." Skulker exclaimed. "You just about destroyed us all with your little trick. That asteroid would have been an Extinction-Level-Event."

"Enough!' Fright Knight cut in. "The queen is still around and if it is not killed, she will generate thousands more!"

"I hate to say it, but he's right." Ember sighed. "Remember, Vlad: we're keeping a very close watch on you." Before Vlad had a chance to reply, something 

sent Ember crashing through the wall. They turned around and saw another Xenomorph, but this one was glowing green.

"It must have been born from another ghost!" Technus shouted. "No matter; it cannot match Technus, lord of all…" He was blasted by a stream of energy that could rival even Vlad's strongest attacks.

"This creature is mine!" Vlad ordered. "The rest of you, find the queen! She is or top priority!" Fright Knight nodded in assent. The others hesitated, but when Skulker's robotic arm was ripped off, they decided to obey. "It's just you and me." Vlad was well aware of how powerful this thing was. Last time, it had taken both him and Daniel to beat it. Nonetheless, he had to hold it off.

Vlad flew out into the open in order to have more room to maneuver. He duplicated into 4, surrounding the Xenomorph on all sides. All of them fired, hitting it. It screeched, but put managed to put up a shield that lasted long enough to escape. It launched ecto-blasts everywhere, forcing the Vlads to scatter.

_Okay, he's got a lot of power, but not much in the way of tactics, fortunately. _Vlad thought to himself. The xenomorph fired a powerful stream through its tail, destroying one of the duplicates. The other ones fired lightning, piercing through the shield. It screeched in pain and rage, pouncing towards him. Vlad dodged, only to see the alien change course. He screamed as its claws and tongue ravaged his body.

His duplicates launched lightning, diverting his attention. Vlad did his best to heal his injuries, but he was not in top form. "Okay, I can destroy him if I can manage to keep him still, but he's too strong." He mused. "Wait, why didn't I think of this before?" He conjured a sword and rushed towards the alien. He parried attacks from his claws, and dodged his tail.



His duplicates fired token shots, distracting him. Meanwhile, Vlad concentrated as much energy as he could, and waited for the perfect moment. He launched it, scoring a direct hit, but it still was not enough to destroy it. The alien destroyed another one of his duplicates, hissing the entire time. Vlad recalled the last one, not wanting to lose any more energy.

He was forced on the defensive as he had to avoid both ecto-blasts and acid. Vlad cursed to himself, wanting nothing more than revenge. He was in great pain, but he didn't care at the moment. _When I'm done with you, I'll kill the queen as well! _He flew in, attacking more ruthlessly than ever. _Yes, he's on the defensive._

Vlad stabbed it through the throat, keeping his sword there. The Xenomorph pierced him through the stomach with his tail. It thrashed and thrashed, but it finally fell to the ground and did not move again. Screaming, Vlad pulled the tail out of him. He was losing blood, but the ectoplasm in his body was fusing to cauterize the wound. He transformed back to human form and fell to his knees.

"Vlad, the queen is dead." Fright Knight said happily, flying towards him. "We won."

"We really did, didn't we?" Vlad forced himself to get up. "I killed that thing, but my powers are quite drained at the moment. Let's find out what Daniel and the others are up to, shall we?" Fright Knight picked him up and they flew around the city. There was little need to avoid detection, since most people were evacuating. "Man, that must have been a real battle." He saw Predators and soldiers all over the ground, most of them dead.

A couple of hours passed, and they had no luck. They landed in an alley, and decided to rest. "I admit, the queen was strong," Fright Knight informed. "We 

almost didn't beat it. Skulker finally managed to paralyze it, and we managed to finish it. The others are still recovering from their wounds."

"Now you can get back to your lives." Vlad sighed. "As for me, however… wait, what's that?" Vlad spotted a trail of blood. Cautiously, he followed it, Fright Knight following. After a few seconds, they found Derek lying there. "Hell of a shame; he reminded me of someone. Don't ask me, all right?"

"Fine, but there's something strange," Fright Knight replied. "Look at him. He doesn't seem to have any wounds at all." Vlad approached and quickly arrived at the same conclusion.

"Okay, I see your point." Vlad agreed. "Now what do we do? We can't leave him here, but neither of us have the strength to take him to Colorado. I suppose we can leave him at Fenton Works, or what's left of it." Fright Knight picked the boy up, and floated a few feet above. After some concentration, he finally managed to turn into Plasmius. They flew off, though far slower than usual.

"This is going to take a long time to clean up." Fright Knight shook his head.

"Not as much as you might think." Vlad replied. "The town has become quite accustomed to this due to the string of ghost attacks, though I will admit it has never been at this scale." They flew through the Ops Center and dropped Derek gently on the couch. "Much as I would love to figure out this mystery, we had better get out of here. We're still weak and I'm a wanted man."

"How are you going to survive?"



"Believe me; they didn't manage to get all my money. I still have a good deal of it left in several accounts on the Cayman Islands. It won't be very hard to access, and they are ones the public does not know about."

"A good idea. Now would be the perfect opportunity."

"I wouldn't advice that just yet." Clockwork stated, startling them both. "This is not over."

"I helped Daniel out, I destroyed the infestation; what else is there?" Vlad demanded. "Is there another queen I have to kill?"

"No, that at least went as planned." Clockwork replied, turning into a child. "However, there is a new enemy that you must soon face. There, I fear, I cannot help you."

"You haven't been a lot of help to me so far. Why would this time be any different?"

"I've helped more than you might think. In the near future, you may face yourself in combat; good day."

"What the hell did he mean by that? Stupid, annoying ghost and riddles… this is probably how Daniel felt when I acted the same way. Does he mean a different version of me, or… no, there's always a mystery in his words. He wouldn't tell me straight out. I'll have to think about this, but in the meantime, I better get out of here." He and Fright Knight flew off. _I'll keep a quiet eye on Daniel… in case he needs me again. _

XXXXXXX



"Well, there's no other way to say it: we're screwed." Tucker sighed. Valerie and Jack fired their last bullets at the Xenomorphs, but it wasn't enough to stop them. However, they started slowing down; one even fell to the ground.

"This is odd, even by our standards." Jazz quipped. The other aliens soon fell unconscious as well.

"Shit, this is going to be a hell of a story to tell when we get back to school." Danny smiled. "I wonder who exactly did that, though."

"Wonder no more, ghost boy." A voice laughed. "I wanted the aliens, and I got you as well, punk." Walker showed up, along with a few of his goons. "These are the weapons I've been looking for."

"A ghost?! Get away from my son!" Jack demanded. He took out a small ecto-gun and pointed it at Walker. He laughed to himself, enjoying the moment.

"Guards, take the creatures back." Walker ordered. "I'll deal with them myself!" Valerie cursed herself for not bringing any ghost weaponry, while Tucker and Sam gasped in horror. Derek stood beside Jazz, glaring defiantly. "This is going to be fun." He fired several ecto-blasts that they tried frantically to dodge. Jack returned fire, but no one else had any ghost weapons.

"We've got to get out of here!" Derek screamed in panic. Walker turned towards him and he froze. He launched a stream of energy, and Derek collapsed. He tried to get up, but was only able to crawl about ten feet before he collapsed to the ground.

"You'll pay for that!" Danny exclaimed. _And yet it's almost a relief that's he's dead; I never did trust him. God, what am I becoming? I can't think like that!_

Jack fired the remaining energy in his weapon, stunning Walker. Using the distraction, they ran away as fast as possible. Fortunately, Fenton Works wasn't far away. "It's a hell of a shame." Dash shook his head. "Jazz, if you need someone to talk to, you can always come to me." _I didn't like the kid, but she apparently did. Hopefully, I can stop myself from making moves on her._

"Thanks for your support, but I'll be fine." Jazz managed a weak smile. They walked inside their house and looked around.

"It's about time you got here." Umbra smirked, or whatever the Predator equivalent. "You're all here… except for Derek. Where is he?" Their silence told him what he needed to know. "How did he die?"

"Walker came after him; there was nothing anybody could do." Danny said in a surprisingly calm voice. He had gotten used to death throughout his career and especially over the past few weeks. Besides, he never trusted him.

"I am quite sorry to hear that." Umbra bowed his head in respect. He had grown to like the annoying young man. True, he was strange, but was a decent human, and intelligent as well, which was more than could be said for most of his kind.

"We've got to deal with the aftermath of all this." Sam declared. "The aliens are destroyed, but there's a lot of damage in Amity. Besides, this may not be the last time we hear from them."

"If we do encounter them again, we'll know how to fight them." Jack stated with confidence. "With Danny on our side, nothing can stop us!" Sam put her arm around Danny's waist, obviously agreeing with him. They walked up to Danny's 

room. The others thought about stopping them, but forced themselves to refrain. That is, except Dash, who was chuckling to himself. Once they were inside, Danny burst into tears.

"What am I becoming, Sam?" Danny sobbed. "I've watched my friends and mother die before my eyes, and Jazz probably blames me for her boyfriend's death. The worst part of it is that part of me is glad he's dead!"

"Danny, you are not a bad person." Sam replied, hugging him tightly. "You are just wary about who your sister dates; don't worry about it. This is difficult, but we will get through this together. Think of what we still have. If you really were uncaring, you wouldn't be talking to me right now."

"That's true, but I still feel guilty. In any case, they're destroyed now, so they can no longer prey on innocents. I did not completely succeed in my role as Amity's protector, but I have not failed, either! I can't save everyone, but I will prevent something like this from happening again."

The cleanup of Amity Park took weeks. The final death toll was never known but around 3600 bodies were recovered and 1457 people were still missing. Life gradually got back to normal, but everyone was still afraid. The Xenomorphs were not easily forgotten, and police were more wary than ever about disappearances.

With the Predators, the few survivors fled back to their planet. That is, except for Umbra, who decided to stay in Amity Park. Curiously enough, most of the bodies disappeared. The remaining members of the clan discussed among themselves, but decided to wait on their decisions until returning.



As for Jack and Vlad, their relationship had been mended somewhat, but it was still tense. Maddie was dead, so there was little to fight over, but Danny was not about to forgive him. One day, he simply disappeared without any apparent explanation except for a note._ Daniel, I'm afraid there's something else I have to take care of. I apologize for not telling you what it is, but this is too dangerous even for you._

_Plasmius_

And unfortunately, Jack turns out to be right. Walker was intending to turn the creature into weapons and he was not acting alone. Even among the humans, he had allies.

_"Very good, Walker," Someone chuckled in the dark. "I'm glad someone was able to do something right."_

_"When I have a job, it gets done." Walker smirked. "I can finally get my revenge on the ghost boy, and you will gain power in the human world. It'll be quite interesting to see the results."_

_"I won't forget what you've done for me. With Masters out of the way, it'll be simple to engineer these creatures." However, she had an even deadlier weapon, not that she was going to tell him that._

_"Of course… Ms. Yetani."_

XXXXXX

Previously:



Derek got up and found himself at the Fenton's house. "Where am I?" He asked himself. He looked at his body and was astonished to find that his injury had completely healed. "Odd; that sort of wound is normally fatal, especially when you can't get to a hospital. How is this possible?"

_I saved you, Derek._

"What are you?" he wondered, looking around the room. "For that matter, who are you?"

_In one sense, I am you. I've become part of you, and not a moment too soon. A few more minutes and you would have died. I suggest you speak inside your head, so no one will lock you up._

_Okay, but you still haven't answered my question. Why did you help me?_

_Simple: I know what it's like to be in your situation. When I merged with you, I saw some of your memories. Perhaps I could have seen more, but I decided to respect your privacy._

_Are you a ghost or something? Does this mean I'm a hybrid? It sounds cool, especially after I saw Danny's power, but it's probably a great burden to have._

_No, you are not a hybrid. True, you do have abilities, or rather will. I am not yet strong enough to use most of them. _

_What does that mean? Are you a symbiotic organism?_

_Yes, as a matter of fact. I knew you were intelligent. However, I will leave it up to you whether or not you wish to accept me. The longer we stay together, the harder it will be to separate. _

_I'll keep you, then. It'll be nice to have a friend, even if it is inside my head. It's not like Jazz will stay with me for long. What have you learned about me?_

_To begin with, you have a mild case of Asperger Syndrome, although I do not understand what that is. Also, your feelings are quite strong, you don't have many friends, you have spent your entire life being tormented by your peers, but your fantasies were something I preferred to stay out of._

_Well, thanks. Now what exactly can you do? _They heard people coming up the stairs.

_Get out, hurry! The Fentons cannot find out about us, or they will use us for experimentation. _Almost automatically, Derek opened the window and jumped to the ground. It was around 15 feet, but he didn't even feel pain.

_How can you do that?_

_One of your new abilities and this is just the beginning. Once I fully recover, you will learn what you can truly do with me at your side. It'll also be nice to have someone to talk to. I know what it's like for you. Is there anywhere you can stay?_

_There's one friend I've had for years. Even though I was a nerd, she still liked me. God, I can't believe what happened._

_He died protecting others; you should be proud of him._

_I am, but it's still hard to deal with. Maybe I'll talk to Jazz later, once all this is over. Danny will probably punch me again. He's quite protective of her._

_And he doesn't like you because you're weird, right?_

_That's putting it mildly. I wonder how strong I am now. _Derek ducked into an alley and saw a full dumpster. He grabbed the bottom of it and hoisted it up with relative ease. _That's amazing!_

_Just wait until my energy grows. Right now, your strength has multiplied several times. When I fully recover, it will be far greater._

_Maybe things are finally starting to look up. I have you, at least, and Paulina will allow me to stay until I figure out what to do._

_And I can teach you how to use your abilities._

_I will not allow others to suffer as I have. We will prevent it, by any means necessary. _Derek smiled as he walked towards Paulina's home.

XXXXXX

Well, that's the end of it. To be honest, I was originally going to have Dan Phantom attack the city, and have the army, Predators, and Fentons work together to defeat him, but eventually decided that it didn't make any sense for him to appear. I'm planning a sequel, though it won't be up until summer. I've managed to create the basic plotline, but there are a lot of details I still need to work on. Just so you know, Derek is based on me. (Like you couldn't figure that out already)

Hopefully, you have enjoyed this story, even though I didn't get as many reviews as I hoped for. I can't get too bad, since I almost never write one. This is 

my darkest story yet, and for future reference, you can probably find any future works by me in the "M" section. There are a couple more things I need to say.

By and large, my mom has managed to recover, except for the occasional pain. She is even going back to work. Unfortunately, she still won't allow me to drive the car, but I suppose I can't blame her.

**Jack Bauer**: Chloe, I need those schematics now.

**Bart**: What? Who is this?

**Jack Bauer**: I'm Jack Bauer, who the hell are you?

**Bart**: Me? Uhh, I'm Ahmed Adoodie.

**Jack Bauer**: Chloe, find out all you can about Ahmed Adoodie. Does anyone there know Ahmed Adoodie?

**Chloe O' Brian**: Ahmed Adoodie, wealthy Saudi financier, disappeared into Afghanistan in the late 90's.

**Jack Bauer**: Really?

**Chloe O'Brian**: No, Jack. It's a joke name. You're being set up.

**Jack Bauer**: Dammit! (starts shooting while Bart laughs)


End file.
